A-Z Jay Halstead
by hfish7
Summary: An A-Z of Detective Jay Halstead getting injured. The chapters involve other characters from the Chicago franchise! Read, enjoy, and leave a review if you want!
1. Chapter 1- A is for Acid Burn

**Hey guys! This is my first time publishing a fanfic so I don't really know how this'll go! Anyway, this is an A-Z of Jay Halstead getting injured from Chicago pd. From what I've read of other people doing these, they are sometimes written as each chapter/incident happening one right after another. As for mine, they are all written as separate events unless specified in that chapter. Well, I don't know if anybody will even read these but if you could leave a review, I'd love it!**

A is for Acid Burn

Jay sighed and slumped back into his chair. It was 11pm, and the team was still at work trying desperately to find a lead. Drew Richards had murdered two college professors, likely his. Jay had a theory, but couldn't prove it yet. Then suddenly, a he saw a file open up on Ruzeks computer, and excitement spread through him. After 4 1/2 hours of looking, finally!

"Alright I got a lead! So the theory that Richards is out for revenge seems to be the most plausible. There's an incident report here that says Richards was forced to drop out of college after causing a chemical explosion in the lab one night. He wasn't supposed to be there, but snuck in after everyone left. Or so he thought. One of his professors was still there, and filed a complaint. Guess who that professor was?" Adam said triumphantly as he tapped on the picture of Dr. Wade, the chemistry professor, and first victim.

"Ok so, Richards goes off the radar for about two years after he was forced to drop out, perfects his skills, makes a bomb, plants it inside the class, and takes out the two professors who ruined him." Olinsky pieces together the story.

"So that gives us motive, but it doesn't explain how he knew they'd both be there at that time." Boing said, looking around at his team.

"I can answer that! I dove into his records more, says here that Dr. Wade got a restraining order on our guy. Said he was stalking him, following his car, even tried to break into his house, but could never be arrested." Ruzek answered.

"Alright. Do we have an address?" Voight asked.

"According to this, we do. It's an old house off 45 Street." Ruzek said.

"Let's go!" Voight said. With that, everyone jumped up, and ran to the locker room to get suited up.

Three black cars rolled up to the address, and the group of detectives quietly got out.

"Halstead, you and Lindsay go around back. Ruzek and Atwater, take the front. Burgess and Onlinsky around the sides. An old friend said this guy has a knack for escaping. I want him!" Voight said, and the team spread out, guns raised. Halstead and kicked open the back door, and charged into the basement with Lindsay closely in tow. They cleared about three different rooms when Halstead heard a glass break and movement in the room just ahead of them. Lindsay heard was finishing her sweep of the room just behind them, so she was further behind Halstead when he entered the room where he heard the noise. He was immediately met with a sharp left hook. This only threw him off temporarily before he got in his share of punches. Jay was about to go for his gun when the suspect picked up a jar, and flung the contents at him. Luckily, Halstead was able to turn his head just as the hot liquid burned through his shirt. He let out a scream of pain, and fell into the hallway. The man took advantage of the opportunity and took off up the stairs. Lindsay was about to go after him when she saw Jay on the floor.

"Jay! Hey! Hey can you hear me? Are you hit? What wrong?!" Lindsay asked when he rolled over, and started searching his body for blood or bullet holes. She wasn't prepared for what she found. Fear took over her when she looked at his left arm, which was now a mess of badly burned clothing and flesh.

"Wh...where'd he go? He's gonna...get away!" Jay said, standing up quickly. He soon doubled over as his arm and shoulder protested greatly. The burning had intensified in only a few minutes, and the pain was getting worse. Jay felt his breath coming in short gasps, as if he had just run a marathon with a backpack full of bricks.

"Ruzek! Suspects headed your way! Sarge we need an ambulance! Halsteads down!" Lindsay yelled. Her words were heard in everyone's earpiece, and panic ensued in each one.

"Lindsay what the hell happened? Where are you?!" Voight yelled.

"In the basement. He threw acid on him! I...I don't know what it is, but his arm and shoulder is burned pretty badly!" Lindsay said. Halstead was slumped against the wall, teeth gritted against the pain. Lindsay noticed that he had started to pant, and was sweating.

"Sarge I need that ambulance here NOW! I think he's going into shock!" Erin yelled frantically, and kneeled next to him, trying to keep him calm.

"Sit tight we'll come to you! Your gonna be fine Jay, you hear me?!" Voight said. Halstead contorted his face in surprise. Had Hank Voight really just expressed concern for him? That hadn't happened since he was kidnapped and tortured last year.

A few minutes later, the doors opened, and Jay was rushed into the trauma bay of Chicago med. Will was standing at a computer, inputting info on his last patient. He was just about to finish when he heard Maggie's shout of incoming! He looked up, and looked back down. Then his brain registered who was on the stretcher, and panic rushed through him.

"Jay?! What happened?!" He asked as he crossed the ER in about 5 big steps.

"Acid burn covering most of the lateral left bicep and shoulder blade. Multiple lacerations to the face, possible nasal fracture." The EMT answered.

"Did something happen on the ride over? Why is he on oxygen?" Will asked, looking worriedly at the nasal canal that was hooked around his ears and under his brothers nose.

"He seemed short of breath when we found him. It's just a precaution." He replied.

"The house was dark. I didn't see him till he was on top of me. I'm fine! I was going to just drive myself here but Erin insisted I get in the ambulance. Will, it's not as bad as it looks!" Jay said, trying to reassure his older brother, but of course it didn't work.

"I'll be the judge of that. You feel fine now because your adrenaline is still pumping. Once you sit a little, you'll start to feel it for sure. Let's get a morphine drip going, and I'll stitch you up, and then upstairs you go." Will said, helping Jay onto the hospital bed. After a few stitches, Will walked out briefly, and came back in with a wheelchair.

"Alright let's go." Will said, and motioned to Jay.

"I can walk." Jay said, standing up. He held his injured arm carefully so as not to shake the burn.

"I know you can, but your not going to. There's way to many people out there, and one little brush on that shoulder and it could get infected. Now let's go." Will replied sternly. Jay finally decided it was time to stop protesting. He sat down, and Will wheeled him out. The brothers were on their way to the elevator when Lindsay saw them, and came running over.

"Hey. How is he? Is he ok?" Erin asked Will, carefully touching Jays hand, as if she was afraid to hurt him.

"Erin, for the hundredth time! I'm fine!" Jay said, shaking his head.

"Your not fine Jay! Your skin is peeling off of your arm!" Erin said.

"Whatever. Did you arrest the guy?" Jay asked, changing the subject.

"Yea. He acted all cocky until he was stuck in a room with Voight and Ruzek. He asked if he had killed you. Had this twisted smirk on his face. He's lucky I wasn't in there. I would've wrung his..." Erin said.

"Hey. Easy there killer." Jay interrupted, laughing at the red hot anger that was growing in his girlfriends cheeks. He squeezed her hand, and gave her a reassuring smile. The elevator doors opened, and Will pushed jay out, and into the surgery ward. Dr. Rhodes came to join them, and walked with them into one of the rooms.

"Why are we in the surgery ward? I thought I just needed a few stitches and some cream for the burn?" Jay asked, looking at Will and Connor with a quizzical expression on his face.

"That's what we would normally do, but it seems that your burn is worse than we first expected. It's burned through three layers of skin. I'm going to peel off what's left of the damaged skin, and then take a graft from your back. The graft will literally be an all natural bandage, and help your body to grow new skin around it. It should heal nicely, but you certainly will have a scar from the ordeal." Connor explained while examining the wound.

"It's a fairly quick surgery. We'll keep you overnight, and since I know how much you hate being here, I'll let Erin play nurse for you at home." Will said, laughing at his words. Jay nodded, and sighed at the thought of spending the night in a hospital. The next morning, Will changed the bandages, gave him a sling, and then sent him and Erin to the nurses station to sign some paperwork and check out. They thanked him and left


	2. Chapter 2- B is for Bomb

B is for Bomb.

"Alright everybody. This is Jake Ortiz. He escaped from our custody yesterday morning. He is on trial for 5 counts of murder in the third degree, armed robbery, and purchasing illegal explosives. This guys got nothing to lose, so he's likely not coming back in without a fight. It goes without saying that this guy is very dangerous." Antonio said, tapping a picture of the suspect on the board. He was feeling very nostalgic being back on his old stomping grounds. He wasn't there for long though, just to ask his former team for help. Stone was actually the one who had suggested it, as they had more men and more resources than his team. So here Antonio had been for the last few minutes explaining the case.

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Olinsky asked.

"Nagel is having her CI set up a meet with him as soon as possible." Antonio said.

"Sounds good. Let us know when and where, and we'll be there. Just like old times." Voight said, giving Tony a pat on the back. Everybody had returned to their computers for a few moments when Tony got a phone call.

"Sounds good. I'll let them know. We'll meet you there!" Antonio said, and hung up. Everybody glanced up, their attention drawn to him by his words.

"So here's the plan. We're meeting with Laura and her CI at the park on 68th street. Suit up, but plain clothes of course, we don't want to spook him. We can't afford to let him go again." Tony said, already starting to walk out. Everybody else jogged to the locker room to suit up.

"Do we all have eyes on the suspect?" Voight asked from where he was sitting in his car.

"We got in him from the left side." Jay answered.

"We got the south exit." Ruzek answered.

"I got the front." Al finished.

"Good. Hold your positions unless Antonio says otherwise. Al, I'll be in the car behind you since your alone on this one." Voight directed his team. Burgess had taken the day off for a family emergency. Each pair watched the meet attentively.

"That's our guy. Maroon hoodie, black high tops." Antonio said.

"He's carrying a backpack of something. We have to assume it's got a weapon in it." Nagel said, warily eyeing the bag. The team let the words sink in. The meeting was going smoothly so far. Then suddenly, Ortiz and the CI started yelling.

"I don't like this. Move in. Slowly! They might not even be arguing about us." Antonio said, but they all stood and started approaching slowly from each side. Then Ortiz made eye contact with Nagel and bolted.

"Damn! We've been made! Go! We got the suspect! See what's in that bag!" Antonio said, as he and Nagel took off after the suspect. Jay reached the bag first. He unzipped it just as Ruzek, Atwater and Olinsky joined them. Voight had sped off behind Antonio and Nagel.

"Shit! We got a bomb! RUN!" Jay yelled frantically. He dropped the bag, and everyone turned on their heals.

"What?! A bomb?!" Voight yelled. He was just about to ask where everyone was when the ground shook, and he heard a ear piercing bang. Antonio had just cuffed Ortiz and shoved him in the back of Voights car when they all spun around to see people sprinting from the park. His heart pounded as he realized what had just happened. This maniac had just blew up five of the greatest detectives he had ever met. And even more than that, his family.

Erin slowly opened her eyes and looked around her. She was met with a horror that she had hoped she would never have to experience. Her and almost her entire team had just been blew away. She slowly sat up, despite the ringing in her ears and the sharp pain in her side. She searched for the rest of her team, realizing they were all behind her. She had been the farthest away from the blast. Olinsky was was also standing, trying to attend to Ruzek. She ran over to them.

"Erin?! Erin! Are you ok?" Olinsky asked as he caught her.

"I...I'm f..fine. Wh...where's J..Jay?" She sputtered. Terror took over the pain as he caught sight of her partners battered frame which lay motionless on the pavement.

"Oh my god! Jay! Jay can you hear me! Come on wake up!" Erin said, pulling his face to hers. He started to open his eyes just as Antonio sprinted across the grass, followed by Voight and Nagel, who was radioing for multiple ambulances.

"Is everyone ok?!" Voight asked, knowing the question was pointless. He could see the blood and the bodies of Ruzek and Halstead on the ground. Luckily everyone was conscious.

"Hey woah woah stay down!" Olinsky said, guiding Atwaters large frame back to the ground. His leg was mangled and bleeding badly.

"How's Halstead?! Is he awake yet?" Atwater asked.

"Wh...is...everyone...o...ok?" Jay sputtered, trying to sit up. Erin helped him as he propped himself against a nearby bench.

"No but help is on the way. T..tell me what hurts!" Erin asked as he cried when a sharp pain erupted in his chest.

"M..my chest. It h..hurts to breathe." Jay replied, trying not to breath to deep.

"Just stay calm ok! The ambulances are about three minutes out." Nagel said, trying to help whoever she could. Antonio was now knelt next to Ruzek, who was also waking up. He rolled onto his back.

"Oh god. Uh...stay still." Antonio said.

"My s...side hurts." Adam said, trying to find where the pain was coming from.

"The blast threw you on top of a log. It's stuck in there. I need to get your vets off to see how far through it is." Antonio said as Nagel came over. He slowly undid the Velcro, and pulled the vest away when Ruzek screamed in pain, casing Antonio slow his movements.

"Stop! Don't move it any further. The vest is holding it in! If you take it off, he's gonna bleed out!" Nagel shouted when she looked to the source of his pain. Voights head was spinning in circles, full of worry and fear as he took in the sight. Someone came after his family. And now he might loose them all. Sure, Erin and Al looked ok, but by the size of the bomb, they could have something seriously wrong they didn't even know about yet.

"Oh god Jay! Jay! Come on stay with me! Jay!" Erin's scream snapped Voight out of his thoughts, and over to his detective. He had started to cough up blood, and his eyes had then proceeded to roll back into his skull. Antonio sprinted over, leaving Adam in the capable hands of Laura. He pressed two fingers to the side of Halsteads neck.

"He has a pulse, but its weak. He has a collapsed lung. I...I don't know how much longer he can go without oxygen! Dammit where are those ambulances!" Antonio yelled. As if an answer to prayer, they heard the sound of sirens. Voight and Al ran to flag them over. Multiple stretchers rolled over, and the detectives were whisked away. Erin refused attention, and jumped into the ambulance with Jay.

"Dr. Halstead get as many doctors ready as you can. Your brother and his team are on their way in. Apparently someone tried to blow them up. Jay...Jay was closest to the blast." Maggie said. Her words sent chills through Will's blood. This was certainly wasn't the first time Jay had been in here, but he promised himself it wouldn't let him die here. Blew up! God only knows what damage he could have!

"Ok! I need all trauma bays open. Call the blood bank, get as much down here as possible! Get Dr. Rhodes down here. I have a feeling we're gonna have to order some surgeries." Will said, switching into doctor mode. About a minute later, everybody was prepped and ready. The bay doors rolled open and the sight he was met with scared him to his core. Jay was stripped down to only his jeans. One of the EMTs was on the stretcher, doing CPR. Right behind him came Adam, and the scene with him wasn't much better. He had a large wooden stake lodged in his abdomen. Then came Atwater, with what looked like a badly broken leg and multiple cuts. Erin and Voight came running in after the line of stretchers. The fear etched on Erin's face was enough to break anyone's heart.

"Will! We need you in here!" Dr. Rhodes yelled. Will ran in to the room where his brother was being worked on. He was finally breathing again, and had been put on a ventilator. Despite the worry and fear that was surging through him, he knew Jay needed the doctor much more than the concerned brother right now. So with that, he threw himself into the action.

"Let's get a chest x-ray and a head CT. Then send him up to the OR to fix that lung." He said, looking at Connor. He nodded, and pushed the rails of the bed up. Jay was rushed upstairs, and Dr. Choi was bringing up the rear of the train that his brother was leading on, all headed to the OR, and then the ICU shortly after. Will slowly walked out and sank into a chair. He leaned his head on his hands, and let out a shaky sigh. The panic and fear for his brothers life hit him all at once as he looked down at the blood covering his scrubs and shoes. His brothers blood.

"Hey...Will." Will opened his eyes to look at the source of the soothing voice. Natalie squeezed his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Jay's in good hands. He's gonna be ok." She said. He nodded, and slowly stood up.

"I...need to work...tell me if you hear anything." He said, walking away. Natalie nodded.

Jay woke to the sound of the heart monitor. He took a slow, deep breath, and opened his eyes. He caught a glimpse of red hair before the light made him blink his eyes shut again.

"Welcome back. Ah come on! I mean I know I'm not quite as pretty as Erin but I didn't know I was that much of a sore sight!" Will teased.

"Well people have said I got the better looks!" Jay said with a small smirk forming.

"Oh, is that so? And who told you that?" Will asked with an amused huff. He was glad to see his little brother finally awake, and even alert enough to crack jokes as his usual self.

"Aunt Joan." Jay replied with a smile so wide it looked as though he could hardly contain it.

"Yea well she never quite forgave me for breaking her favorite vase." Will said with a laugh. Jay joined him, but not for long, as the movement jostled his tender chest. Will saw him reach for it, and was once again filled with worry. Does it ever end?

"What's wrong? Does it hurt?" Will asked quickly. He stood up and began checking the monitors for any red flags.

"Of course it hurts Will! I did just get blown up, remember? I'm fine I'm fine! Sit down!" Jay scoffed, rolling his eyes. After Will had checked him over once again, he sat down.

"How're the others? And where's Erin?" Jay asked.

"She's in an empty exam room sleeping right now. She's fine other than a bruised rib and a dislocated shoulder and a few cuts. I thought we were gonna have to sedate her so we could check her out. She wouldn't leave your side. Her body was finally so exhausted that she blacked out on her way to get a drink. As for the others, Adam got the worst second only to you. He's got a ruptured spleen and a few broken ribs. Kevin has a fractured ankle that was split open so wide it took 5 staples and half a dozen stitches to close. Al got away with a broken wrist and knot on the back of his head. Wouldn't let us treat him until Voight brought him back from dropping off he suspect. Didn't think it usually took that long to book a guy but hey, what do I know?" Will explained. The last sentence gave Jay a sick sense of happiness. He knew exactly why it took them so long.

"Good. Tell everyone I said I'm glad their ok. I'm gonna get some rest." Jay said, a yawn escaping him.

"Will do. Oh, and Antonio dropped by a few minutes ago. Said drinks are on him once you guys get outta here." Will said as he got up and pulled his ER jacket back on.

"Sounds good to me!" Jay said, before letting sleep take him once again.


	3. Chapter 3- C is for Cut

C is for Cut

"Dammit Jay HOLD STILL!" Will yelled at his brother in frustration.

"Well then hurry up! I have to out there looking for this guy!" Jay yelled back.

"Your gonna make me miss and stab you with this needle! There's only 8 sutures left and then you can go, but the more you move, the longer this is going to take!" Will said. About 35 minutes ago, Jay had nearly scared the life out of him when he knocked of his apartment door. Will had opened it to see his brother out of breath and bleeding from a large cut on his side.

"Jay! What the...? How'd that happen? How deep is it?!" Will asked, ushering him in.

"Suspect tried to knife me. It's fine! I just need a few stitches." Jay said, peeling off his bloody shirt before sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why didn't you go to Chicago Med?!" Will asked, grabbing a the nearest cloth to press onto the wound. Then he ran into his bedroom closet and grabbed the first aid kit. His was a bit more advanced, as this was not the first time Jay had showed up on his doorstep like this.

"Because I knew it would take forever, and I need to get back out there! Besides, you said you weren't working today." Jay said. Will shook his head.

"Does Erin know? You can't tell me she'd be to thrilled about this." Will asked asked as he started cleaning the cut.

"No. I snuck away." Jay said, trying to act like it was no big deal.

"What do you mean you snuck away?! Does anyone know your here? She's gonna kill you! And me to, for that matter!" Will asked in shock.

"I told Voight. Just hurry up ok!" Jay urged.

"Promise me you'll tell her after the case is finished. I can't lie for you. Especially not to her!" Will said.

"Ok ok I will. I promise! Geez!" Jay said.

"Good. Now lie back. It's a good thing I just bought a bottle of bleach. Don't do this again!" Will said, before starting to stitch him up.

"There. I want you to come in and see me tomorrow so I can check it." Will said, putting a bandage over the cut and handing Jay two tablets of Advil and a water.

"If I must. Thanks." Jay said, looking in his brothers eyes hoping to show him how much he really did appreciate all he does for him. Then he borrowed a shirt, and left.


	4. Chapter 4- D is for Defenestration

D is for Defenestration

Four cars rolled up to the house, pushing through the crowd that had gathered outside. The intelligence team had gotten a tip that a mentally unstable perp was holed up in the house, threatening to burn it to the ground. Not only would he kill himself, but he would take all the evidence they had on this case and a few others with him if the building went up in flames.

"Darius Newman! CPD! Stop!" Halstead yelled, running up the steps behind the man. He had let them in the house, telling them he wanted to surrender, which no longer seemed to be the case. Lindsay and Ruzek were following close behind while Atwater and Burgess cleared the bottom half of the house. The man took one look back to see the posse he had follwing him, and decided his only choice was to go faster. Halstead pushed away the burning in his lungs, and started taking the stairs two at a time.

The chase finally reached the top of the steps, and Halstead charged forwards. Even though it was impulse, it was a big mistake. As soon as his head crossed through the doorway, a rock flew in from behind the wall, hitting Jay square above the left eye. A sharp sting sent him reeling, and he braced himself against the railing to keep himself from falling down the stairs. He winced as he reached up and wiped away the blood that was now running into his eye.

"Jay! What was that?! Are you ok?!" Erin asked, looking at the cut on his eyebrow.

"The SOB threw a rock at me!" Jay answered, rage flooding through him. He pushed past Erin and Adam, gun raised, looking for revenge. They followed behind him, ducking in and out of rooms in search for him. Jay was a few paces ahead of them. Suddenly, Adam saw the suspects reflection in the mirror of a bed room. The one that Jay happened to be standing right outside of. Darius looked out the large, square front windows that faced the street and as the cop cars, and plethora of onlookers.

"Jay! Look out!" Adam yelled, but his warning attempt was futile. Jay had no idea where the guy was until he was blindsided by the 5'11 frame charging from the bedroom. Shock paralyzed all them as they watched the two men shatter the window, and plummet to the ground below.

Jay heard the cry from Adam, and just as he turned to look at him, the air in his lungs was knocked out by the suspect tackling him. Before he could respond, the two of them crashed through the window. His body slammed onto the hard ground below, but he felt no pain. The only reason being because as soon as his head met the earth, he blacked out.

A collective gasp sounded from the bystanders as they watched the pair hit the ground. Atwater had rushed out of the house at the commotion, followed closely by Burgess. The suspect rolled over, and made a move to stand, but quickly discovered he was looking directly down the barrel of a gun. He was cuffed, and dragged to a car by a tight grip on his surely fractured left arm.

"Jay! Can you hear me?! Come on! Open your eyes!" Voight rushed over to his detective. He dropped to his knees, and pressed two fingers to the side of his neck. He was met with the familiar thump thump of a heart beat, but it wasn't near as strong as it should be. He checked the body for any obvious signs of injury or blood, and other than what was on his face there was none. This was not a comfort at all, as this meant the injuries were internal.

"Jay!" Voight looked towards the scream to see Erin rushing towards them.

"He's out. Call and ambulance right now! He's breathing. For now." Voight said.

"This is Detective Adam Ruzek. I need an immediate bus to my location at 102 Ridge Road! 1013! I repeat, 1013 officer is down and unresponsive!" Adam yelled into his radio. Erin sat on the ground holding the hand of her pale partner. She was pried away from him minutes later as he was loaded into the back of and ambulance.

Hours later, Erin was again next to the motionless body of her partner, although this time he was safely tucked under layers of hospital blankets. His face was oddly peaceful despite being in the one place that he hated so much. Instead of staring the the dozens of wires attached to his chest, she intently studied his hand. She had certainly done this before, but it seemed that every time she looked, there happened to be more scars than before. She knew the war had left him battered, but she never realized how many of the scars were on his hands. She began tracing the multiple lines that curved their way through the palm of his hand, when she watched the strong finger suddenly wrap around hers. She looked up to see him smiling at her.

"That ones from you." Jay said with a small smile.

"What?" Erin asked, confused.

"That scar. The one you just had finger on." Jay said.

"And how'd I do that?" Erin asked, now more curious.

"Well, not you directly I guess. You remember those roses from the other night? I dropped the vase trying to carry to many things at once." Jay said, now starting to look at it himself.

"How come I didn't notice it before this?" She asked.

"Well I mean, it is winter. It's glove wearing weather." Jay answered.

"You know, you really scared me today." Erin said, now meeting his gaze.

"Yea well...I'm just glad it was me rather than you." Jay said.

"Well look who's awake!" Will said, knocking on the door to the room.

"Wow. Thanks for killing the moment bro!" Jay said, rolling his eyes as his brother walked in.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I hate third wheeling! Anyway, you got pretty lucky considering you fell two stories. A grade three concussion, impacted fracture in your shoulder blade, and a strained muscle in between your shoulder blades. Once I check everything, I'll discharge you. You know the drill with concussions, wake him up every TO hours, and call me if anything changes." Will explained, then turned to Erin.

After a check up, Erin helped him change into his clothes, carefully lifting his arm. After and argument with Will considering sedating his stubborn brother just so he could get him into the wheelchair, the pair left Chicago Med.

"If you want, I'll tell you the stories of the rest of the scars." Jay said, looking at his palms on the ride back to their apartment.

"You would do that?" Erin asked, knowing how incredibly rare it was that Jay talked about what he had been through overseas, or even just his feelings in general.

"Only for you." Jay said, leaning over to place a kiss on her temple.


	5. Chapter 5- E is for Elbow

E is for Elbow

Jay shivered as he finally entered the precinct after being out in the freezing cold February Chicago weather. He and Erin had just returned from arresting a suspect. Jay pulled a glove off with his teeth while holding firmly to the suspect. He had put up quite a fight, and had to be tackled and almost even tasered to get him to stop resisting. There was no way Jay was going to let him go this time, even though he knew that the man wouldn't get very far in a building full of armed police officers. Jay loosened his grip slightly, not expecting anything.

"I'll file the report if you book him. You think you can get him up the stairs without killing him?" Erin asked sarcastically. She wasn't sure though, the guy was excessively violent.

"Yea I got him." Jay said. A feeling of shock that was quickly followed by rage filled Jay when the suspect turned around and spit in Jays face.

"Looks like we're gonna add assaulting a police officer to that record of yours. It really seems to growing in the last hour doesn't it? Your lucky your surrounded by cops." Jay said, wiping off his face, then whispered in his ear as he shoved him up the stairs.

Voight looked up from his desk as Jay entered with the suspect to take him to the bullpen.

"I'll be in in a minute." Voight said. Jay nodded, and pushed the man along as he tried to dig his feet into the floor. When the two got into the room, Jay uncuffed one hand, and was about to hook it to the bar against the wall. The suspect realized that Jay had let his guard down, even if it was only for a minute. He decided to take advantage of it, and yanked his arm away, while lowering his shoulder into Jays chest, and throwing him backwards. Jay was surprised by the sudden force, which sent him backwards into the wall. Luckily, the door to the room was already closed, so the man couldn't escape. Jay jumped to his feet, knowing the man was not about to go down again without a cage fight. Jay threw a combination of punches that he had learned from Antonio a while back, hitting the suspect in the throat, and knocking him to the ground. Jay reached back to grab the cuffs, when suddenly his feet were taken out from under him. Once they were both on the ground, the brawl turned into a wrestling match. Jay certainly had the upper hand, and was just about to pin him and finally get him back into cuffs when the suspect flipped Jay onto his back, and caught him into an arm bar, with Jays left elbow being pulled back. He strained against him as much as he could, but was no match for the man's quick strength. Jay heard a pop, and let out a yell of pain.

The team jumped at the sound coming from the bullpen. Kevin was the first out of his chair when he heard Jays scream of pain. He sprinted down the hallway and threw the door open to see Jay and the suspect tangled on the floor. He quickly grabbed the man by the arms, and started to pull him up when he caught an elbow to the nose. The man spun around, ready to fight again, but was swiftly put out with one right hook from Kevin. The rest of the team joined them, and Ruzek grabbed and cuffed the now unconscious man. Kevin made his way to where Jay was standing, holding his arm tightly to his stomach.

"You good man?" Kevin asked.

"Damn! He got a jump on me!" Jay said in frustration, slamming an open palm against the table.

"Hey. Hey take it easy. It looks like your elbows out of socket." Al said, looking at the injury.

"So that's what the pop was. He got me in an arm bar. Side note, can we all take a moment to appreciate that right hook? It's was Lights out right away!" Jay shook his head at Kevin. He winced as Erin rolled his sleeve up to look at elbow. The tip of the elbow was facing out, and the arm was at an angle that didn't look normal at all.

"Well that's definitely dislocated. Take him to Med, we can finish up here. Besides, I think he'll have quite the headache when he wakes up, so I doubt he'll be revisiting anymore." Voight said to Erin, then motioned to where the suspect was chuffed to the table.

"No way I'm leaving! This guy has gotten away from me twice. I get to interrogate him. I'll call Will and have him come set it on one of his breaks." Jay said, standing up in anger. Voight thought about fighting it, but knew he'd probably have to drag his detective out.

"Fine. Make the call." Voight answered. He threw his hands up and shook his head when Erin shot him a "your-his-boss-make-him-listen" look.

"Before you do anything, come into the break room and at least let me splint it." Erin insisted. Jay nodded, and followed her out of the room.

"Hey Will." Jay said.

"Hey what's up?" Will answered.

"Hey uh, can you come down to the precinct? I need you to reset my elbow for me." Jay asked, trying to make it sound normal. Which wasn't all that far from the truth by now.

"You what?!" Will asked wondering if he had heard his brother correctly. Jay then jumped into the long winded version of the events that had taken place in the last couple hours.

"Ok ok! You know your timing really is impeccable. I just started my break." Will interjected.

"Thanks." Jay said, and hung up. Will shook his head, and grabbed his jacket. He walked into the supply room and grabbed a sling and some ace bandage, and walked out.

"Hey Nat, I'll be back in a few minutes. Jay needs me at the precinct." Will said on his way past the nurses station.

"Uh..alright. Is everything ok?" She asked, looking at the supplies he was carrying.

"Yea he's fine. Just him being injury prone. Some guy he arrested dislocated his elbow. I gotta go fix it. Just another day with the Halsteads!" Will shouted on his way out. Natalie laughed to herself.

"You know, I really should start charging you for this kinda stuff!" Will said, rolling his eyes at the sight of his brother. He was flopped int his desk chair with the facial expression of a pouting toddler, and arms crossed over his stomach.

"He's sulking because Voight said he can't go in to the interrogation until his arm is fixed." Adam said with a smirk.

"Sounds normal. Alright, let me see." Will said, coming towards Jay. Erin untied the makeshift sling she had made for him. Will gave Jay a rundown of what was gonna happen, then positioned himself.

"Erin, I need you to hold his bicep real tight right there. Perfect." Will said. Then it was over just as quickly as it started. Jay let out the breath he realized he had been holding. After his arm was wrapped and rested comfortably in a proper sling, Jay thanked Will, and practically sprinted down the hall to his destination.


	6. Chapter 6- F is for Fire

F is for Fire

Jay was sitting at his desk, trying hard not to fall asleep. His caseload over the past few days had been complete madness, and times of sleep had been few and far between. He was flipping through files, and logging things into the database when his phone rang.

"Jay! I need you! Jay they...they took her! Their threatening to set the building on fire! You have to help her! Please you have to help me get her!" Jay listened to the panicked voice of his CI.

"Nate! Nate slow down! Who took her? Where are you?" Jay asked, drawling the attention of the rest of his team.

"J...just some guy! I ripped him off last week! Now he has my daughter! You have to help me!" Nate kept shouting.

"Ok! Ok, where are you? I'm coming!" Jay asked, standing up and sliding his gun into its holster. He wrote the address down, and slid his phone back into his pocket.

"What was that about?" Voight asked, coming out of his office. He had heard the tone of the conversation, and how quickly Jay had jumped up fro his chair. It had to be serious.

"One of my CIs just called. Someone took his daughter. I have to help him." Jay said, starting to walk out.

"Slow down." Voight said, still slightly confused.

"Voight, I owe this man my life! Not only has he given me information to close half a dozen caes, but he was also the one who talked me off the ledge the day Michaels died." Jay answered. Erin cringed slightly, remembering all the stories Jay had told her about Logan Michaels. Logan was a fellow soldier stationed with Jay. When he died, Jay took it pretty hard. This was back before he became a cop, and Nate was the only one there for him.

"Ok. But your not going alone. Erin, go with him. If anything goes wrong, make sure he calls for backup." Voight told Erin. She nodded, and quickly grabbed her stuff as Jay raced down to the garage.

When the pair pulled up to the address Nate gave them, Jay jumped out to see him nervously pacing up and down the side walk. He saw them, and ran over frantically.

"Th...they took her in there! They went in about ten minutes ago! You gotta get her outta there!" Nate said, pointing at the abandoned warehouse.

"Ok. Did they saw what they would do to her? How old is she now?" Jay asked.

"Uh...ten...Mackenzie's ten." Nate said.

"Ok. Stay here. When we go in, I need you to call the fire department. They know we're out here, so they'll likely set the building on fire. But! But I know they won't kill her!" Jay explained, handing him a phone, with the number already dialed.

"How can you be so sure?!" Nate asked, terror filling his eyes.

"Because they want something from you. You told them you can get it, right?" Jay asked.

"Uh..yea." Nate replied.

"Good. Stay here. I'll bring you your daughter. Hey. I promise!" Jay said, grabbing the man's shoulders to make him look him in the eye. After he nodded, Jay ran into the building. Erin was extremely skeptical of the plan, but she knew that there was no way that Jay would be talked out of it, so she followed him into the building, hand on the gun in her holster. They climbed the stairs as quietly as they could, looking for the room Mackenzie was being held in. Jay caught movement in the room around the corner when he looked in and saw her.

"She's in there! Let's go!" Jay said, and the two detectives inched towards the room.

"One more step and I drop it." The new voice quickly caught their attention as they entered the room. Two dirty, tough looking men stood, now facing Jay and Erin. One was holding the girl, the other was holding an open lighter, with the flame already going.

"You do that, and we all die. Even you. What? You think their here for you? Those men don't care about you. Their here for us, and Mackenzie. You let her go, let us get her back to her dad, and we won't bother you again. Just let her go." Jay said, gun raised to the man's chest.

"To late."

"We got a call about a fire? I don't see one?" Kelly Severide hopped out of his truck and walked towards Nate, with the rest of firehouse 51 in tow. Nate explained the entire story, and how Jay and Erin were both inside. Boden heard the story, and radioed Voight.

"According to Hank, he's telling the truth. He said Jay and Erin left the precinct about 20 minutes ago." Boden said, hanging up his phone. He was just about to give further directions when a loud bang sounded, causing everyone to jump. They looked up in shock to see black smoke flooding from the ground level doors, as flames erupted from the windows.

"Oh my god! Mackenzie! My daughters in there! He promised! Jay promised!" Nate yelled, charging towards the building. Casey quickly caught him before he could go any further. Boden started yelling to his firefighters, and they all jumped into action. Just as Casey, Herman, Mouch, and Otis were getting g ready to run into the building, Erin came stumbling out through the smoke. Gabby ran towards her.

"Jays...coming. I..I thought he was right behind me. He has...the girl! I got the the bottom floor and I realized they weren't with me anymore. Two men on the top floor lit it on fire. Jay grabbed her and be both ran just as he dropped the lighter into a huge can of gas. I'm fine!" Erin explained everything to Boden and Casey while Gabby tried to check her out.

"Alright Casey, take the team and find them. Squad, let's get this fire out!" Boden yelled. Everyone jumped into action. Erin was now the one panicking. Jay was trapped in a burning building with a girl, and two men who wanted to kill them both. Although, it was likely that the men were already dead, as they were standing right next to the source of the flames.

"Guys! It's Jay!" The words sounded in Erin's ears, and her eyes shot to where she had exited the building moments ago. There he was, looking like and action hero from the movies, walking out with the girl in his arms. Dawson and Brett ran over as people crowded around the pair. Otis took Mackenzie from Jay and set her carefully on the stretcher, then moved away to let the paramedics do their job. Nate hugged her as tears streamed down his face. His daughter was alive! All thanks to...

"Jay!" Erin screamed as they all turned just in time to see him drop to the ground. She rushed to his side, expecting to see him out cold. Instead, his eyes were open and alert. He was wheezing badly.

"I'm...fine..." Jay sputtered.

"I don't see any major injuries. Looks like you just breathed in a lot of smoke. Let's get you on oxygen." Brett said, after checking him out. Casey and Herman draped Jay's arms around their shoulders, and helped him towards the ambulance.

Jay closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the clean oxygen. A few minutes later, Dawson had given him a clean bill of health, but still suggested he ride along to get checked out at Med. After much persuading, and a promise that he would let Will check him over later that night, he climbed into the truck, letting Erin drive once again. He watched Nate and Mackenzie get into the ambulance. Nate had thanked him profusely, but Jay assured him that he didn't need to. They were even now. A life for a life.

 **Hey guys! Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I really didn't think people would read this, but I have been pleasantly surprised! And in case your wondering, I do plan on actually completing the task of A-Z! However, I need some suggestions on what to do for G...any help would be appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7- G is for Gunshot

G is for Gunshot

Jay walked calmly through the crowded lawn with the rest of the Intelligence team. This was a rare occasion, as they were all dressed in plain clothes, with their badges hidden. They had gotten a tip of an armed shooter in the park. The team was skeptical of the call because there had been no panic since they arrived, and even more so because they had recently been receiving fake calls over the radios. When they were told that the gang they had been watching for the last few months on a open case was organizing a hit at the local park, it just didn't seem plausible. A gang hit in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowded park? And the park that was only a few blocks from a police precinct? It just didn't seem plausible. Nevertheless, Voight and his team were there. He didn't want to take any chances of something actually happening and starting a gang war, the whole time knowing he could've stopped it before it started. The team had taken different paths to look inconspicuous, but had now converged in the middle of the park.

"Looks like it was another fake call. Probably some stupid teenager." Jay scoffed, looking around at the peaceful people enjoying the warm early spring weather.

"Well if it was a teen, they sure weren't stupid. They knew which gangs to threaten a war between to get us all out here." Al said, looking around. He had a gut feeling that there was more to this, but he couldn't quite place what it was. The team holstered their weapons and stood, racking their brains and surveying their surroundings, hoping to spot something suspicious. All of a sudden, a loud crack sounded through the air as a gun fired. Al should have trusted his gut, because he was correct.

Screams of fright sounded from the bystanders closest to the circle of detectives. Jay let out a grunt of pain, and looked down at his abdomen. The rest of the team had looked towards the source of the sound, until they heard Jay.

"Oh my god! He's hit!" Adam yelled when he noticed the red stain that was growing on the front of Jay's shirt. Jay pressed a shocked hand to the hole in his side, and drew in a sharp breath. The rest of the team looked over just in time to see his knees buckle and drop to the pavement. Erin was the closest to him, and first to his side.

"No! Come one Jay! Come on! Look at me! Keep your eyes open!" She begged him.

"This is Sergeant Hank Voight requesting immediate backup to my location! I have a 1013, roll a bus! And tell them to put a rush on it!" Voight said, picking up his phone. Kevin hastily pulled his jacket off and handed it to Erin to press on the wound.

"Hey! Your gonna be fine, just keep your eyes on me ok?" Adam said, squeezing his friends hand when the pressure gained a moan Jay.

"Al, with me! Kevin and Burgess go the opposite direction. I want this guy alive!" Voight said. His detectives took off, not even needing him to light a fire under them to get them moving.

"H...how...b...bad?" Jay managed to push out. Erin wanted so badly to lie, to tell him it was nothing, but she knew she couldn't. She also knew he wouldn't let her.

"Your loosing blood fast. Wait...he shot him from the back. This is the exit wound...that means he's..." Erin trailed off, looking at the large pulled of blood underneath her partner.

"Bleeding from the back to! Dammit!" Adam said, finishing her sentence.

"Jay, we have to get you onto your right side. You gotta stay awake for me, ok?" Erin said. She jumped over him, switching places with Ruzek, and handing him her sweatshirt to put on the other wound. They could hear sirens pulling up to the curb, and luckily, a concerned onlooker had seen what was happening, and directed the paramedics to Jay. Dawson and Brett pushed through the crowd with concerned looks on their face. Jay was promptly loaded onto the stretcher after his shirt was cut away and the wounds were packed correctly.

"Come on Jay! Don't you dare give up!" Will yelled at his brother, even through he knew he couldn't hear him. Jay had been unconscious since he had been rushed through the front doors of Chicago Med, barley hanging on. The room was full of doctors and nurses rushing around, trying desperately to save the man in front of them. A nurse pulled the gauze off and unpacked the wound. It seemed that that was the only thing holding the blood in his body, because as soon as she did, it rushed out and all over the floor. Terror filled Will as he watched his brother cough, sending blood out of the corner of his mouth. Jay's eyes rolled back up into his head, and the heart monitor began to beep angrily at him.

"Stats are dropping! I can't get a pulse!" The words nearly chocked Will on their way out. Erin collapsed into the waiting arms of Voight, who practically carried the sobbing figure to the waiting room.

"Clear!" Will yelled. Jays body convulsed from the shock, but didn't respond. Again, nothing.

"Charging! Clear! Come on Jay! Come on!" Will yelled, pressing the paddles to his brothers lifeless form. He picked them up and waited _one...two...thr..._

"He's got a sinus rhythm!" April said, letting out a sigh that the entire room was holding. Dr. Rhodes took over, and soon Jay was wheeled out of the room and up to surgery. Will closed his eyes, trying to get his head to stop spinning. April pulled her gloves off, and joined him in the hallway.

"He's gonna make it Will. He a fighter." April said, trying to comfort him. She turned to face him when she didn't get a response, noticing he hadn't moved since he walked out. He was staring at the blood covering his gloves and the front of his shirt and white jacket.

"Hey. Will? Hey. Woah woah!" She said in surprise as she watched him drop to the floor. Natalie and Jeff rushed over to their coworker.

"Get me a gurney! Let's get him into a bed." Natalie said.

Will woke a few minutes later in a private room. He took a deep breath, and Dr. Charles looked up from where he had been staring into space, waiting for the attending to wake up.

"Wh..why am I in here? What happened?" He asked, pushing himself up in the bed.

"Welcome back. You were out for about 4 minutes." Dr. Charles said.

"I passed out?" Will asked curiously. Then the events of the last 30 minutes all came back to him, and his face dropped once again.

"You did. You were in shock. It's understandable after having to resuscitate your brother." He said.

"Jay...uh...how is he? I..I can't remember anything that happened after I shocked him the third time." Will asked, even though he knew he was probably in surgery. It seemed to Will that he would feel a little better if he heard confirmation for someone else that Jay was alive.

"That's completely normal. He's with Dr. Rhodes. He's the best surgeon we have. I think I'll let you rest. Just take it easy, and take as long as you need." Dr. Charles said, leaving him. Will let out a deep sigh, and laid his head back on the pillow. As much as the fighter in him was telling him to get up and get back to work, his heart was still pounding, and he hadn't slept in days. He was out cold in minutes.

Connor pulled his scrubs off, and walked out of the operating room. He whipped the perspiration off of his forehead. This had not been the first time he had had to operate on his coworker and friends brother, but it certainly was the most difficult to date.

"Hey." Connor said, as he walked into the waiting room and approached the Intelligence team in its entirety. It was about 5:30 in the evening, and yet they were all still there.

"How is he?" Erin asked anxiously.

"He just got out of surgery. The bullet ruptured his appendix and took off a piece of his spleen. We repaired both, but it took longer to drain the toxins that his apendix released. There is a small chance that we didn't get all of it out, so I want to keep him here for at least a week to monitor him. Other than that, I expect him to make a full recovery. It will be slow going, but he'll be back to himself in about three weeks." Connor explained.

"Well knowing Jay, he'll be back to normal before that. Then it'll just take his body a little longer to catch up." Adam said.

"Can we see him?" Erin asked eargerly. The happiness that had filled her when she heard Jay was ok was now replaced by an overwhelming need to hold his hand, to talk to him. To see that he truly was going to be ok, and replace the image of him laying in a pool of his own blood.

"Not immediately. He'll be in the ICU for at least an hour. Go home, get some rest. Or if not, I'll have someone come get you when he's awake." Connor said. Voight nodded, and after much coaxing, he led her towards the cafeteria to get some food in her. Then it was back to doing the thing she hated the most. Waiting.

Jay let out a hiss of pain as Erin pulled the bandage off his skin. She looked down at the angry red scar running across his bottom two ribs. He had the equivalent on his back, but that one was still in the shape of a bullet. It was about two weeks after his dance with death, and he was still resting at home.

"Did we get a case today?" Jay asked.

"Yea, _I_ did. _You_ are still on bedrest." Erin said.

"Ugh! Come on! I'm so bored!" Jay complained, causing a annoyed laugh from Erin.

"Jay. We've been through this before. Your not going back until your cleared! No ifs ands or buts!" Erin said.

"Fine. Then just know I'm going to be the biggest pain in your ass every minute your home." Jay said with a smirk.

"Wait, you mean you aren't already?" Erin asked sarcastically, earning her a light shove. She replaced the bandages, then helped him pull a shirt on. He wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, and snuggled her closer into his good side. She rested her head on his shoulder, and the spent the rest of the night that way.


	8. Chapter 8- H is for House Call

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and nice comments! Glad your having as much fun reading this as I am writing it! Anyway, this chapter is a follow up to the previous chapter! Also, my apologies for the sloppy format of the last chapter, I realized it may have been hard to tell where the breaks in the story was. I'm still figuring out how this website works! It'll hopefully get better!** _

H is for House call.

Will put his pan away, and took his plate of food to the table. He grabbed the remote, and clicked onto Sports Center to catch the highlights of the game he missed the night before.

It was about 10am on his first day off in a long time. He soon cleaned his dishes and then settled into the couch to catch the rest of March Madness. A new game was starting just as his phone buzzed on the coffee table in front of him. He picked it up, praying it wasn't work.

'Hey. I was planning on going home at lunch to check on Jay, but we just got a case and I'm caught up. Can you swing by for me?' It was from Erin.

'Sure, I'll head over now' He answered. He grabbed a jacket and was just about to walk out the door when he got a feeling that maybe he should take his medical kit with him. He jogged up the stairs to his bedroom to grab it, then left.

"Jay! It's Will. Open up!" Will said, when knocking on his brother door didn't work. No response. The first few minutes, he figured he was just sleeping, so he had called him to wake him up. Jay had been a light sleeper ever since his time in the military, so when that didn't work, he started to worry. Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper clip and a bobby pin that his girlfriend Nina had left in there the other day. _I knew those spy books would pay off someday_ Will thought as he remembered the summer that he and Jay borrowed that book from their library and learned how to pick locks. He laughed at the memory of when his mom found out about the skill. He smiled slightly with pride in himself when the door swung open. He walked into the apartment, closing the door behind him.

"Jay! Where are you?" He called through the rooms. Then he made his way to the bathroom, glancing quickly into the bedroom on his way past. He almost kept walking, when a flash of brown hair caught his eye. He pushed the door the rest of the way open, and let out a gasp of shock. Jay was unconscious on the floor.

"God! Jay can you hear me?!" Will said, rushing over to the limp form on the carpet. He pressed two fingers to the side of Jay's neck, and was only slightly relieved to find a strong pulse beating beneath them. He then began checking for any noticeable injuries. He looked up as a moan came from Jay, and he opened his eyes. He tried to sit, but Will stopped him.

"Take it easy. Just lie back ok. What happened?" Will asked.

"I...passed out. I was asleep until you called, then I heard you downstairs. I guess I got up to fast." Jay said. He ignored Will's directions, and pulled himself up with a hand pressed tightly against his side.

"Do you feel lightheaded or dizzy? Did you take your medication today? Did you hit your head? Does your incision hurt? Is it in..."

"WILL! Stop! I just stood up to fast, ok!" Jay cut off the stream of questions.

"Well that doesn't normally happen! Have you eaten anything?" Will asked.

"Dude! It's only 11! Erin and I stayed up late last night watching a movie and I slept in. I would've eaten already if the doctor would just clear me for work!" Jay retorted in an annoyed voice. He still hadn't been cleared to return to work, as he was still recovering from his gunshot three weeks ago. Of course, Jay thought he was fine, but this was further proof to Will that his body wasn't ready quite yet. With all the quick, sudden movements that happen daily in his job, like chasing a suspect, this little episode might repeat itself.

"Let me see it." Will said.

"See what?" Jay asked, giving him a look.

"Your baseball card collection. Don't act stupid! The incision!" Will said sarcastically. Jay rolled his eyes, then pulled the corner of his shirt up to show the long, black and blue line running directly down the left side of his abs. The sutures were still in, despite the fact that the ones in the back had fallen out. Will checked Connor's handiwork throughly, even thought he knew it was some of the best that anyone could get.

"You done?" Jay asked, getting tired of holding his shirt up.

"Yes. Now come downstairs and let me make you something to eat." Will said, walking out.

"Ok. So who sent you over? Erin?" Jay asked, following him out, and down the hall.

"Yea." He answered, coming into the kitchen and pulling open the pantry. Jay walked in behind him, and pulled a beer out of the fridge, then leaned against the island counter. Will filled a glass with water and walked over.

"Um no. Not while your on medication. Especially not that stuff." Will shook his head, and pulled the beer out of Jay's hand, and replacing it with the glass of water.

"Come on! Not only do I have to be stuck at home, but now I can't even drink?!" Jay said.

"You don't have to be at home. You just can't be at work. How bout this, you eat something, get dressed, and we'll go watch a hockey game. Tickets are cheaper because their not in season, and the Blackhawks are at home tonight." Will suggested, truly feeling bad for Jay. As crazy as work was, he knew he would loose his mind if he couldn't work for weeks.

"Sounds good to me." Jay said, sitting down. Will nodded, and finished the sandwich he was making. The two brothers spent the rest of the day out, enjoying each other's company.

 **Hey guys! Me again? ﾟﾘﾂ** **and once again, I'm stuck on a letter. It certainly won't b the last time though, so keep your thinking caps ready! Anyway, any suggestions/requests for I?**


	9. Chapter 9- I is for Infection

I is for infection

 _"Cassie Skyped me yesterday. I, uh...I asked her to marry me." Logan said, looking at the picture of the blonde haired woman in his hand._

 _"Well look who finally grew a pair and did it!" Sam teased._

 _"Your one to talk Daniels! Not like it took you three and half years or anything!" Logan shot back with a smirk._

 _"Touché. What about you Halstead? You got anyone waiting for you at home?" Daniels asked, looking in the rear view mirror of their hummer. Their convoy of vehicles were creeping through the desert late at night, trying to get home from their occupation in a nearby city._

 _"Nah, nothing yet." Jay answered._

 _"I can set you up with my sisters friend. She's a real nice girl." Logan offered._

 _"I appreciate the offer, but..." Jay was interrupted by a ear piercing bang, and their vehicle was launched into the air. The hummer landed upright, but the explosions kept coming all around them._

"Jay! Wake up! Hey! Hey!" Jay shot up into a sitting position, and looked around, slowly realizing where he was. Erin had pulled the covers off of him, and was trying to hold his arms at his sides, to stop his flailing. She handed him a cloth off the bedside table.

"Just breath, Jay. Just breath. Your safe. It's ok." She said, rubbing his back. This wasn't the first time he had a nightmare. In fact, it was the second one this week.

"I...I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Jay asked, finally starting to calm down.

"No, I'm ok. I told you we should've gotten away for the weekend." Erin said, trying to comfort him.

"Yea, maybe. You know, the 4th of July used to be my favorite holiday. It always confirmed that serving my country was what I was meant to do. Now it just ruins everything." He said, visibly flinching as more fireworks erupted outside in the neighborhood down the street. He pulled the covers back, and looked at the clock on his bedside table with a sigh. 5:30am.

"How's the cut doing? Have you cleaned it recently?" Erin asked, looking at the bandage on Jay's right arm. That was the result of his first flashback earlier this week. He had been cutting a ham for dinner, and had started to zone out, when a commercial for the movie Hacksaw Ridge came on. The gunfire and explosions had spooked him, causing him to drop the meat cleaver and slice his arm open. Erin had the time of her life trying to wrangle her bloody, terrified boyfriend to the ground so he wouldn't hurt himself more. That time, it took him a good half hour to calm down. The trip to the hospital certainly didn't put him at ease.

"Uh...no. Maybe I sh...should have." Jay said. Erin jumped out of bed, and rushed over to where he was standing. She heard the hint of fear in his voice, and switched the lights on. He was standing, staring at the soiled bandage he had just pulled off. The cut on his arm was red and swollen, with puss oozing from the side where the stitches had been ripped out. Erin grabbed a towel, and pressed gently against it, then led him tot the bathroom.

"Dammit. It's infected. You must've ripped the stitches out just now. I thought it sounded like you hit your arm on the nightstand." Erin said as she started washing it out in the sink. Jay drew in a quick breath of pain as the warm water stung the cut. Erin quickly dried it off, and wrapped it tightly with gauze from the first aid kit on the top of the sink.

"Stay here. Drink this. I'm getting you a shirt, and then we're going to Med." Erin said, running out. She sprinted back into their bedroom, pulled on a pair of jeans and a jacket, grabbed her purse, and a loose shirt from Jay's drawer. She helped him pull it on, then rushed him to the car.

About 20 minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Chicago med. Jeff and Will came running out to meet them. Erin had called Will, on their way out of the apartment, and had only needed to say that Jay had another nightmare before Will knew exactly what was happening. He himself had experienced a July with Jay before he and Erin were living together, and had actually sedated him one night, for fear he would hurt himself.

"When did it start bleeding?" Will asked, examine the arm before they even reached the doors of the ER.

"When I woke up... I hit it on the nightstand. I...I didn't realize it until I got up." Jay said.

"Dr. Halstead, room 4 is open and ready for you." Maggie said as the group walked Jay in.

"Thanks." Will said, leading Jay carefully, but quickly to the bed. When Jay sat down, Will unwrapped the bandages while Jeff grabbed IV bags, and hooked him up to fluids, and other medicine to stop the infection, all ordered by Will. Satisfied that Jay was in good hands, Erin slipped out to call Voight. She explained everything, saying that Jay wouldn't be coming into work today. She thanked him for his well wishes, and hung up. Will walked into the waiting room to where she was sitting.

"Hey. I know he probably fussed, but it's a good thing you brought him in. The cuts infected, and if he would've let it go, or tried to treat it himself, it likely would've spread to his bloodstream and turned into sepsis. We caught it in time, thankfully. We'll keep him here today and see how he is tonight to decided wether or not he can go home." Will explained.

"Thanks." Erin replied with a sigh, rubbing her forehead.

"You ok?" Will asked, noticing the look on her face.

"Uh..yea. Yea I'm fine. I just feel so awful. I can't imagine all the pain he went through over there. All the friends he lost. Sometimes I just don't know what to do for him." She said.

"Yea, I get that. I wasn't there for him when he first came back, when he needed family the most. Then when I finally was, I felt so helpless. Your good for him Erin. He needs someone to keep him grounded, and to hold him even when he thinks he doesn't need it. Thanks for being that person for him." Will said. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. She nodded. After he left, she went back into the room to talk to Jay before she left for work. As she walked out, he was drifting off to sleep, and she could only hope it would be a peaceful one.

Ethan was making his rounds at the hospital, checking on the patients in the different rooms, cleaning the floors, and making sure everyone was resting comfortably. The ER was relatively slow today, so he hadn't been downstairs in a while. He walked into the next room with his head in a clipboard. When he finally looked up, he was surprised to see Will's younger brother asleep on the bed. He didn't look very comfortable. Ethan could see Jay's eyes darting back and forth under the eyelids. His hands were shaking slightly, with one clenched tightly around the bed rail

 _Jay tried to free his wrists from the tight leather straps that were wrapped around them, but it was no use. One of the men grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him backwards onto the chair. He felt cold against the back of his neck. "Let's try this again. Tell us where your base is." One voice said. Jay couldn't see who his captors were, because they had tied a black bed sheet over his face. He shook his head furiously, and then the voice yelled something in the native language that Jay couldn't understand. Suddenly, Jay felt a rush of cold water being poured on his face. He tried to hold his breath, but had to open his mouth when his lungs screamed for air, resulting in a mouth full of water. Just as he was about to slip out, a pair of strong arms yanked him back up, and pulled the mask off. He sucked in the air, trying to expel as much water from his lungs as he could at the same time. "So your a tough guy, eh? Usually they crack after the 3rd round. I have to give you props, you mad el it through 6. Well I guess we'll have to try something else. One minute of this stuff in your blood stream, and you'll be begging for the water instead." The dark figure said. Jay struggled against the needle that was being shoved into his arm..._

"Jay! Stop!" Will rushed in when he heard the yells of Dr. Choi coming from Jay's room. Will was just making his way up to check on his brother when he ran in and found Dr. Choi struggling to keep the manic thrashing of Jay's limbs contained. Will knew exactly what was going on, and rushed in to help. He had just reached his brothers side when Jay reached up, and yanked the IV as hard as he could. Blood started rushing from the needle mark as the tube flew out of his arm. Will grabbed a cloth and pressed it against the wound.

"I got him! Get a needle and sedate him right now!" Will yelled, trying to grab Jay's other arm. Just as he reached for it, Jay swung, and his fist connected solidly with the bridge of his nose. Will stumbled backwards from the blow, pain storming in between his eyes. He grabbed the wall to keep himself from falling as Connor and Jeff sprinted into the room. They were finally able to hold Jay down long enough for Ethan to stick him with the needle, and push the sedative into his vein. Jay was out once again, and Connor came over to check on Will. Jeff was called down to the ER, and reluctantly left the room.

"Let me fix that." Connor said, looking at the bridge of Will's nose where the skin has split open. Will had grabbed a towel to stifle the blood flow. Will started to resist, but stopped when Connor gave him a look.

"Well, luckily it's not to deep, and the bone doesn't feel like it's broken." Connor said, whipping the blood away. The bleeding stopped fairly quickly, and Connor placed a butterfly bandage over it, and handed him an ice pack.

"How much damage did he do to himself?" Will asked, looking to where Ethan was cleaning and bandaging Jay's arm.

"Nothing to serious. He ripped some skin off, but the vein looks to be in tact. Lucky for us, he got one just as good in his other arm." Ethan said. Then he grabbed a clean needle and IV tube, and put it carefully in Jay's arm. Will stood up, and walked over to this side of his brothers bed. He grabbed a cloth, and wiped the sweat off his forehead and neck. Connor had gotten a page, and had to run out. That left him and Ethan.

"I should've been there." Will asked with a sigh.

"Where?" Ethan asked.

"With him. When he first came home. Maybe I could've helped him." Will said.

"PTSD is a cruel disease. A person can be totally fine for years until the tiniest thing happens, and then boom. There's nothing you could've done to prevent it. Will, look at me, and believe me when I say this. This is not your fault. You can't get back the moments you weren't there, but you can make sure he never has to go through anything alone again." Ethan said, holding his friend by the shoulders. He knew exactly how hard this was, as he had seen his fair share of ex-soldiers just like Jay. In fact, he was in Jay's spot now and then. He patted Will on the back, then left the brothers alone.

Hours later, Jay turned his head over, and opened his eyes. He looked around the room at the chairs that were currently occupied by Will, who was staring off into space. Jay looked down at the bandage around his arm where the IV had been when he fell asleep, then looked over at the bandage on Will's nose. Guilt swept over him as he put it together.

"Will...did I? I...I'm sorry." Jay tried to find the right words to say, but couldn't.

"I'll have to ask Antonio what he taught you. You sure have a mean right hook!" Will said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He scooted closer when he saw the look on Jay's face.

"Jay it's ok. I'm fine. Just a scratch." Will said, then continued to study his brother. Jay knew that look.

"August 8th. Somewhere in the dessert." Jay said.

"What?" Will asks.

"That's where I was. I forgot all about that day until just now." Jay said.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"My team...we were raiding an enemy compound. We had a civilian doctor inside. They sent us in to get her out, but they made us. Killed the doctor, took me hostage. They waterboarded me for 10 hours trying to get me to give them the location of our base. When I wouldn't, they stuck me with an IV of some sort of chemical. It was supposed to hurt so bad that I'd give up the information, but I passed out first. When I woke up, I was on the back of a med truck on my way to the hospital on our base." Jay said. Will listened, sorrow filling him. No wonder Jay hardly slept.

"Jay...I'm sorry..." Will sputtered.

"What're you sorry for? You didn't do it to me." Jay said.

"I know. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you got home...I was an awful brother when you needed me the most. I'm sorry." Will said, staring at the floor.

"Will, it's not your fault. We both had a lot of our own issues to deal with back then. Hey. Thank you. For everything. You've saved my life enough times since I've been back to make up for the time you missed. I'm lucky to have you." Jay said, waiting until Will finally made eye contact with him.

"I love you bro." Will said, putting a hand on Jay's shoulder.

"I love you to." Jay said, returning the gesture.


	10. Chapter 10- J is for Jumper

J is for Jumper.

Jay was on his way home Molly's. It was about 10:30 on a Friday night, and Erin had gone out on a girls date with Kim, leaving Jay to find himself dinner and entertainment until she got home. The night air was cool, but felt good against Jay's face. He hopped in his car, and decided to stop by his favorite restaurant and get dinner. He drove the scenic route, as Chicago looked gorgeous his time of the year. He drove across slowly through the towns, not having to worry about people in a hurry behind him. He reached the bridge, and was marveling at the sight of the moonlight gleaming off the water. He was just about to look back ahead of him when he caught sigh of a man standing on the outside of the rails of the bridge. Jay knew exactly what he was there to do. He turned around, and slowed to a stop. He got out of his car, and slowly walked over to where the man was standing. As he got closer, Jay could hear muffled sobbing. The man looked to be no older than 25.

"Beautiful night isn't it? I take it that's not what your here for though." Jay said gently, so as not to startle the man and make him lose his grip before he wanted to.

"St...stay b..back man!" The young man stuttered, whipping tears off his face.

"Hey, just take it easy. I just want to talk ok? Can we do that?" Jay said, slowly taking a step closer, under a lamp so that the man could see him. He looked Jay up and down, then nodded. Jay lowered his shoulders slightly in an effort to make himself look less intimidating.

"What's got you up here?" Jay asked, leaning against the railing.

"Y...you wouldn't understand!" The man said, inching away.

"Try me." Jay replied.

"Everything! My wife of 10 years left me after I lost my job. Th..then yesterday..." The man chocked on the next sentence.

"You know, before we continue, I don't think I caught your name." Jay said.

"Uh...M..Mark." Mark said, drawling in a deep breath.

"Good. My name is Jay. So what happened the other day?" Jay asked smoothly.

"My...my best friend. James...he...he was k...killed in Afghanistan. IED took out his convoy. Killed him instantly. His w...wife called me today. We were friends since 3rd grade..." Mark said, breaking down once again. Jay instinctively ran his fingers over the smooth piece of metal in his pocket at the mention of a fallen soldier.

"I'm really sorry for your loss. T.." Jay started, but was cut off.

"Sure you are. Everybody is. I knew you wouldn't understand! James...he saved my life. He was home on leave when my house went up in flames. It was two weeks after my wife left me, and I didn't want to live. I just stayed inside. My neighbor told me that James showed up, and went ballistic. The firefighters wouldn't let him go in, so he knocked one out to get past. He dragged me out. And...now he's g...gone." Mark said, looking at the picture in his hand.

"Actually Mark, I do get it. In fact, I stood on this very bridge about four years ago. What branch was James in?" Jay asked when Mark gave him a shocked look.

"A...Air Force. He was a fighter pilot. Did you have a friend in the service?" Mark asked.

"Quite a few. I'm an ex-Army Ranger myself." Jay said.

"Oh...thanks for your service. You..you said you were here before?" Mark questioned.

"Of course. And yea...I was. My situation was actually pretty similar to yours, more than you think. My friend Logan served alongside me for all my time with the Rangers. He was there for me through everything. Our captain said he was the first one in to rescue me when I was held hostage in an enemy compound. He was there for me when we got back, and my first bout with PTSD happened. Then one day he was in the city, and a little kid wandered into the road. A tractor trailer was coming down the road and didn't see the kid. Logan pushed the kid out of the way and took the hit himself. He was killed on impact. When I found out, I didn't want to live in a world without him. Two weeks after his funeral, I left a suicide note on my kitchen table, and drove myself out here to this very bridge. In fact, right over there." Jay recounted, pointing to a spot next to a post about three feet away.

"D..does it get easier?" Mark asked.

"It does. It still hurts, but it will get better. Look at me Mark. You have so much ahead of you. So many incredible things are in the future, and if you check out, you'll miss out. You don't want that, do you Mark?" Jay said, as he slowly got closer. He saw Marks lip quiver as he shook his head.

"Good. Grab my hand. I'll pull you over." Jay said, reaching out. With the other, he got a firm grip on the railing as and anchor. Mark nodded. Jay felt some tension ease as he held tightly to Marks wrist. Mark took a step to face Jay when he looked down, and finally realized how high he was. Jay saw him shiver, and the fear mixed with regret fill his face.

"Hey. Hey! Look in my eyes, don't look down. Your fine." Jay said. Mark took a deep breath, and moved closer to Jay when suddenly, his foot slipped off the edge.

All of Jay's muscles immediately tensed, and his grip tightened on the steel bar as he realized he was now the only thing keeping Mark from dropping. Mark screamed, and threw his body up in an attempt to grab the bridge with his other hand. As the body weight shifted, Jay felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. His yell of pain was involuntary, knowing exactly what happened. Despite the pain, Jay refused to let go, and sat back, using his legs to pull the man upwards.

"Hey! Don't worry! I got you! I got you!" Jay yelled, pulling harder. He started to feel the the weight lighten, and watched Marks face reappear. Jay let go of the bridge, wrapping his good arm around Mark's waist, and pulling him over. Once they were both back safely, the two men collapsed to the sidewalk, panting in exhaustion. Jay put a hand to his injured shoulder, feeling around. He looked over to where Mark sat, clutching his side.

"You alright?" Jay asked.

"I...hit my ribs on the side when I fell." Mark said.

"Let me see." Jay said, pushing himself to his knees. Mark pulled his shirt up, and Jay looked at the bruise that was already forming.

"You need a doctor. Luckily, I know a guy." Jay said with a smirk. He helped Mark up and over to his car. On the drive over, Mark caught a glimpse of the side of Jay's badge.

"So your a cop to?" Mark asked, slightly amazed.

"Detective actually, but yea." Jay answered. Mark rode the rest of the way in silence.

Jay led Mark through the doors of Chicago Med. Maggie greeted him with a puzzled look.

"Hey Maggie. Where Will?" Jay asked, walking up to the desk.

"Um...should be just coming out of that room. Everything ok?" She asked.

"Jay? Who's this? You ok?" Will asked, walking over to the pair with an equally confused look.

"I'll explain in a minute. Can we get him to a room? He needs x-rays. My guess he's got at least one broken rib, maybe two." Jay. Will have him a "what'd-you-manage-to-get-into-this-time" look, but Jay just moved him forward. Will led them into a room, and assigned Mark a nurse, the led Jay into another room. When Jay sat down, Will pulled up Jay's shirt sleeve to look at his shoulder.

"So how'd you manage this?" Will asked, looking at it.

"That guy I came in with? I pulled him back onto the right side of the bridge." Jay said nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" Will asked as he continued to inspect how badly the dislocation was.

"I mean that he was about to commit suicide. Just a couple feet from where Nate found me." Jay said. He winced slightly as Will started moving the shoulder around.

"Well, it looks like it's not a bad dislocation, but I still want you to get an MRI. You did a good thing today, Jay." Will said, pausing between sentences. Jay nodded, and sat back onto the pillows. Will noticed a round, metal necklace Jay was fiddling with.

"Those Logan's?" Will asked.

"Yea. Cassie gave them to me at his funeral. I carry them with me everywhere. I like to think it's his way of watching over me." Jay said, looking down at the dog tags he was holding.

"Well if the amount of things you've survived is any indication, I'd say he's doing a pretty good job!" Will said with a laugh, and walked out to order the tests.


	11. Chapter 11- K is Knee

K is for Knee

Jay made motions to his team behind him as the moved quickly but quietly through the hallways, occasionally ducking in and out of rooms, checking for the suspect. Each pair of detectives split off through the house to find him. Jay and Erin went down the stairs into the basement. They bursted into each room barrel first, finding nothing but boxes. They were just about to turn around and go back upstairs after clearing the second to last room, when a shadowy figure darted out of the room closest to the door, and flew up the stairs leading to the back stairs. Jay saw him first and took off after him, Erin following behind. The suspect rounded the side of the house with Jay on his heals.

"CPD! Stop! I got him! Get the car!" Jay yelled, first to the man, but when he didn't stop, Jay followed him. Erin nodded, and hopped into the car. She radioed the rest of the team, and soon the filed out of the house, Adam running after them. Jay tracked the man down the street and into the alleyways, jumping over the trash cans and boxes the man threw behind him in an effort to slow or stop the detective. The man underestimated Jay's physique, and was soon panting. He slowed to stop to catch his breath. Jay also slowed, and raised his gun to the man's chest, and walked towards him.

"Hands on your head! Interlock your fingers!" Jay ordered, waiting for the man to comply. He put one foot slightly behind the other, as he had a feeling that the suspect wasn't going to come in that easily. He was right. The man suddenly turned on his heals, and took off again down a side street. Jay huffed in disappointment, and took off once again, holstering his gun as he picked up speed. Ruzek rounded the corner and continued on when he saw a flash of the back of Jay's coat into the next alley. He decided to take a shortcut in hopes to cut off the suspect and give Jay a rest. Jay continued after the man, once again hurdling over obstacles and pivoting back and forth through the maze the man was taking him on. The chase soon led them onto a street. The man ran out into the road, with Jay following him. Suddenly, a horn honked, and Jay's eyes snapped towards the sound. There was a car barreling towards him, and Jay locked his knees in an effort to stop himself. One knee complied, but the other buckled from the sudden change. The sound of screeching breaks pierced the air as the driver tried desperately to control his vehicle. It finally skidded to a stop, but not before sending the suspect flying through the air. Jay had collapsed to the pavement as his momentum hyper-extended his left knee. He felt a sharp pain in the front, and grabbed it in an effort to sooth the pain. When he realized what happened, he pushed himself up, and hoblled to where the man lay on the ground. Ruzek ran over after watching the entire ordeal.

"He's dead. You ok?" Adam asked, looking at Jay's obvious limp.

"My knee hyper-extended when I tried to stop. It's hurts, but I'll be fine." Jay said, joining him by the suspect. Erin and the rest of the team raced up and came to where the two agents were.

"What happened? Are you hurt? Is it your knee?" Erin asked, looking at the scene in front of him. Jay stood, rubbing his throbbing knee. Voight got out and took care of the driver while the others called for a coroner.

"Just a hyper extension. I've done this before, back in boot camp. I'll be fine." Jay said, leaning against the car to take pressure off of it.

"Your not fine! Your limping! I'm taking you to med." Erin said. Voight gave his nod of approval. Jay shifted his weight more, and started to say something when she fired him a look.

"Well damn! If looks could kill!" Jay said, throwing his hands up. He walked to the car, and he and Erin were on their way to Med.

After lots of poking and prodding, and even more eye rolls and annoyed looks from Jay, he was sent home in a brace and on crutches. Which he proceeded to complain about the entire ride home. It would've continued back at the apartment, but was quickly put to rest with a threat from Erin and a hockey game coming on.

 **Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter? I was had an idea but it wasn't really all I had thought it would be originally. The next few will be longer I promise! I need suggestions/requests for a few letters yet, so how bout we just get them all out of the way instead of asking at the end of the chapter before them? Any suggestions for the following letters will be so helpful: L,N,O,P,Q,W,Y, and Z!**


	12. Chapter 12- L is for Lung

L is for Lung

Jay walked down the dimly lit street, following the signs to the address on the note in his hand. The light of a full moon cast a eerie mood. Jay brushed his leg against the gun he had hid in his boot. When he got to the office that morning, there had been a note on his desk. Platt said some guy delivered it. The entire team had nearly gone crazy when they read it's contents. They all tried to convince him not to go, but he knew he had no choice. He walked into the alley, searching for any sigh of the man with the name at the bottom of the note.

"Hello Detective Halstead." A man said, stepping out from the wall. The streetlight shown on his face.

"So your the guy that shot me huh?" Jay said, looking the man up and down. He was about Jay's height, skinny but not without muscles. There was a long scar stretching from his left earlobe to the corner of his lip. He had a black hoodie on, with the hood up.

"You know, I have to give you props. Your really hard to kill. Thought for sure I had you." The man said, moving closer. Jay's survival instincts started to click on.

"Am I supposed to remember you?" Jay asked, racking his brain as he studied the man.

"Well you should, but of course you wouldn't. You killed my brother." The man replied.

"I'm really sorry about that, I am, but your brother brought it upon himself. I think you know that just as well as your father did." Jay said, suddenly recalling an old case of and armed robbery where the parents had given up the location of their sons as a last resort to stop their behavior. During the bust, this man's brother had surprised Ruzek, and held a gun to his head after pistol whipping him. This earned him a bullet through the skull from Jay, directly from his snipers nest.

"Yea? Well I think you killed him like a coward. You kept your distance to shoot him. So now it your turn. But this time, we're gonna fight like real men do." The man said, manning his way towards Jay.

"Neal? That's your name right? Look Neal, I did what had to be done, and you know it." Jay said, preparing himself for the guy to charge at him.

"I promised him you'd pay. And now you will!" Neal said, rushing forward. A brutal fight ensued between the two men. Jay grunted as the man slammed him against the wall, with two hands around his neck. Jay was trained extensively in hand to hand combat, so he used a special move to push him off, then got in a few more punches himself. Neal realized he was loosing, so grabbed a pipe from the ground beside him as a last resort, and swung it. It hit Jay directly in the chest. Jay felt a few different cracks as he hit the ground in pain. Neal walked over, and landed the knockout blow with a boot to the temple.

A few minutes later, Jay woke up. He looked around, dazed, and trying to remember where he was. The pain that rushed through his chest when he sat up quickly brought all the memories of the last few minutes back. He put a hand to his chest, and stared at it with a mix of annoyance and pain when he saw blood. He forced himself to his feet, and stumbled his back down the street, back towards the precinct. The precinct was mostly quiet at this time of night, as most people had gone home, so no one noticed Jay as he pulled himself up the stairs to the front desk. He pushed the door open, and tried to walk to Platt's desk.

"Jay? What the hell happened to you? Jay!" Platt did a double take when she saw the battered detective stumble through her front doors, then rushed to his side when he collapsed to the ground.

"Uh Voight...you might wanna get down here. Like right now...we have a problem." Platt said into his radio. She pulled back Jay's jacket, looking at the large open wound that was creating a stain on his shirt. She yelled for a first aid kit, and another officer was dialing 911 just as the intelligence team ran downstairs.

"Jay! What happened?!" Erin yelled, first one out of the gate.

"I knew we shouldn't have let him go alone! That SOB tried to kill him again!" Voight said, putting it together. He explained the pieces of the story to the rest of them, when Jay's eyes opened again.

"Hey! That's it Jay! Look at me! Can you breath?" Erin asked, listening to his raspy breaths making their presence know but the wheezing coming from Jay's chest. He gave a slight nod, before letting out an awful sounding cough, and spitting blood from the corner of his mouth. Panic seized the team as they surrounded him, trying desperately to help him. The doors flew open, and Dawson and Brett ran in with a backboard and stretcher. Erin stood up to let the medics go to work. Gabby kneeled down and began to pack Jay's chest wound. She checked his pulse, and then his lungs with her stethoscope.

"Diminished breath sounds on the right side. Multiple rib fractures. One appears to have punctured his lung." Dawson said. They continued their work on him when suddenly, Jays mouth filled with blood and he began to choke.

"Dammit! His lung collapsed. Airway is filling with blood. Help me sit him up, we need to get him to spit as much of it out as he can! Brett, get the suction ready in the ambo!" Gabby yelled. Ruzek dropped to his knees to assist in any way he could. Another officer had gotten a bowl, and Adam pushed Jay carefully into a sitting position. Once Dawson was sure they had gotten most of the blood out, they carefully laid him back down. Just as he reached the floor, his eyes slipped closed.

"He's out. I need to intubate him, and then get him on a stretcher." Dawson said. She moved around to his head, and tilted his chin up so she could see his airway better. A second later, the tube was in place, and Jay was strapped to the backboard, and taken out.

"Hey Sarge I got something here!" Atwater said, pulling all eyes to him. The team had reluctantly left the hospital to come back to work, all except Erin. The team had started the manhunt for Neal Parsons. They had analyzed the note over and over again, and had gone to the address, which was now a crime scene. Voight came out of his office to the bullpen.

"Says here that Neal's probation officer hasn't seen him in three weeks. They tried to locate him, but it seems to appear he dropped off the face of the earth." Kevin said.

"How does that get us closer to finding this maniac?" Voight asked. Kevin gave him an exhausted "I tried" look before sitting back in his chair with a sigh.

"Actually, I can help! Just got a tip from the bolo we put out on him. He's...outside Chicago Med! Do you think?!" Burgess said, looking at the alert that appeared on her computer screen. The team jumped up as fast as they could. Neal was going to try to finish Jay off.

The team sped through the streets, sirens blaring. Adam called Erin, who alerted security guards. She assured them there was at least five uniforms standing outside Jay's room, all with a picture of Neal's face, ready and waiting for him. The swerving trail of cars stopped outside the hospital, and the intelligence until jumped out. Voight directed them off in pairs.

"Nobody goes home tonight until we find this guy! I want him alive!" Voight yelled, and took off with Olinsky. The team searched the entirety of the hospital, and were about to stop when a call came over their radio.

"Hello everyone. I believe you can all hear me. I suggest you stop looking for me. Go home, let me have my final day with Halstead. Or stay, and I kill two of your detectives. Remember me Adam?" Seething anger filled Voight as he heard the message, followed by a small grunt from what had to be Ruzek. Voight gathered the team together, and they all switched their radios off. He then gave them directions, and they headed to the roof. They stormed up the stairs, and looked through the window to see and unconscious Ruzek on the ground, with a gun pointed at the center of his chest.

"One more step and he's dead. Trust me Hank, I'll do it." Neal said. Rage flooded through Voight, and he pushed forwards faster. He threw the door open that led to the roof, and stormed out. Neal gave a laugh, and pointed the gun at Adams heart, a direct kill shot. A shot rang out, and the rest of the team turned towards the seen in front of them in shock, expecting the worst. Instead, it was Neal on the ground. Voight had shot the gun out of his hand. In fact, he had placed the shot so perfectly, that it had taken the offenders pointer finger clean off. Voight kept walking towards the man, and hovered over the bleeding, sweating man. The tough, insane look that had previously occupied Neal's Eyes was now replaced with fear.

"You nearly killed my agent twice, but both times failed. Those dog tags you wearing? Did you know the man your tried to kill was an Army Ranger." Voight said, standing over him, jaw clenched. Kevin and Burgess had grabbed Adam as soon as the suspect was on the ground, and were taking him to be looked at. That left Voight and Olinsky alone on the roof.

"Ya know, I knew I should've shot him in the head! I was trying for his liver, guess I missed. How unfortunate. Maybe I'll try again later. I know everything about your whole team Hank. I'll be back. And next time, the bullet will go through his skull." Neal taunted.

"He thinks he's getting off this room in anything other than a body bag!" Voight said to Olinsky, laughing. He turned back to the man, and pressed his gun to his temple,

"Veterans don't try to assonate other veterans. There is no next time with for you." Hank said, slowly putting more and more pressure from his boot onto the man's bleeding wound from the missing finger.

"And it's Voight to you." Voight said, lowering his gun. Almost everyone on the tope few floors jumped as a loud gunshot. Only a select few of those that heard it knew what cause it, and they were all the ones wearing a badge.


	13. Chapter 13- M is for Marksman

M is for Marksman

"This is Sergeant Voight requesting immediate back up to our location! Multiple shots fired by the police, suspects returning heavy fire! Were pinned!" Voight yelled into his radio over the thundering sound of bullets. Jay and Erin were crouched behind their car.

"At least three M16s, and one AR15! All full clips. We're gonna be here all day unless we make a move!" Jay yelled to Voight and Olinsky who were a car away.

"How can you tell that kind of thing?" Adam asked, amazed.

"Let's just say this isn't the first time I've been stuck somewhere listening to the sound of enemy gunfire. And if we move soon, it'll also be the shortest amount of time." Jay said.

"So your telling me that you can tell exactly what kind of guns their using simply by the sound?" Adam asked, not totally believing him.

"Yea. The bullets make a different sound. So do the chambers." Jay said, listening once again.

"Look, as fascinating as this is, I'm almost out, and back up isn't here yet. I say we do something before we're all dead!" Erin interjected. Voight nodded his agreement, then sent his team off. He stood up, drawing the fire so his they could all split up. Just as they were all about to run off, the gunfire stopped. The detective stood up slowly, guns drawn, after waiting for a few moments. They looked towards the building for the gunman, but saw nothing. They stepped out into the opening from behind their cars.

"Looks like they ran out." Kevin said, though not quite sure he was right.

"No... the AR had at least half a clip left. Only one M16 was out." Jay said, not trying to show off. He was just as confused as everyone else was. They stood, looking around, trying to formulate a plan. They were about to run I to the building to search it, when a single shot sounded. Kevin dropped, and the teams attention immediately snapped towards the sound. It was coming from a building off to the side.

"Dammit! They've got a sniper!" Jay yelled, raising his gun, and firing in the direction. The team was still checking on Kevin, when another shot ran out, taking down Adam. The team panicked even more when another came, and this time, Voight let out a yell of pain. Jay helped to pull his injured team members behind the cars as the looked frantically for the sniper. Burgess yelled again for backup and multiple ambulances. Jay just happened to glance at Erin, when he saw a red dot on the middle of her chest.

"Their using lasers! Erin get DOWN! ERIN!" Jay screamed at his partner as he lunged at her, propelling both of them behind the nearest vehicle. As soon as they were pinned behind the vehicle, the machine guns immediately started up again. Erin carefully pushed Jay off.

"Jay! You ok?!" Erin yelled, rolling him off her. He nodded, but she didn't believe him. He was to pale.

"My god another one! He's hit! How far are the ambulances?" Erin yelled to Kim, who was trying to help Adam. Before she could respond, blazing sirens filled the airspace. Everyone seemed to let out a sigh of relief as they watched multiple units and two SWAT trucks roll up. The ambulances were brought in beside them, to shield them from the amo. Erin helped Jay as he pushed himself up against the car. She looked at the back of his shoulder blades to see the entry wound. Jay let out a grown of pain, and laid his head back.

"H..how's the rest..?" Jay asked, turning his head to where Olinsky was tying a shirt above the hole in Kevin's leg. Kim was holding her scarf tightly to Adams side, and Voight was kneeling next to them, trying to keep Adam calm. Voight was of course refusing help from anyone, and had tied off his own wound.

"How is he?" Voight yelled to Erin. She and Jay had dove behind a car farther from the rest of the team.

"I..I'm fine Sarge...ahhhh!" Jay said, but yelled in pain when moving sent a fiery pain trough his entire arm. He had felt the click of two end of a broken bone rubbing together. Erin was about to answer when two paramedics came behind the car. Kevin and Adam had been loaded into waiting ambulances, and rushed away. Over the past few minutes, SWAT had cleared the buildings, and came out with five suspects. The paramedics quickly cut Jay's shirt off, packed the wound, and Erin helped them carefully guide him onto the stretcher.

"Get me a mask! He's going into shock!" One of the EMTs yelled as Jay's breaths came in short and shallow gasps.

"Hey! Your gonna be fine ok?! Your gonna be ok!" Erin said, squeezing his hand. He nodded.

"H...how are th...the others?" Jay asked, pulling the mask off. This earned him a look from the EMT, which he barley saw. He looked back at Erin with questioning eyes, hinted with worry. Erin's heart nearly snapped in two when she saw the pain on his face from the EMT moving his shoulder around, in an effort to asses the damage. They were now in the back of the ambulance, on their way to Jay's frequent hang out spot, Chicago Med.

"Adam took one through the abdomen, Kevin in the thigh, and Voight said it clipped his arm. Adam was their first shot, so it's seems like he was their most accurate." Erin explained, waiting for Jay to pass out. It seemed as though the concern for his friends was the only thing keeping him lucid, as he looked intently into Erin's eyes, as if asking for more details. Details she didn't have, so instead she began to make things up just to keep him awake.

 **Later**

Hank let out a huff of disbelief, and shook his head as he read the case file on his lap. After he had waved off attention multiple times, insisting that his men be looked at first, and watching the three best detectives he knew be rushed off, bleeding, through the trauma bay doors, he had finally let them look at him. Kevin had gone up to surgery first, followed by Adam. Jay on the other hand, had decided to be difficult, as usual. Coating from the bullet had somehow leaked into his blood stream, poising it, and causing a seizure. Hank had to practically carry a sobbing Erin to the waiting room, where his body promptly decided to collapse from a mixture of blood loss and exhaustion. Will had come out after Jay was rushed off to surgery to find Erin crying even harder, begging Hank to wake up. It was then Al's turn to pull her away as Will went to work. Now, roughly three hours later, Hank sat in his hospital room, dumbfounded but the details on the file in front of him.

"The damn kid was right!" He said to himself, and shook his head in amazement.

 **Later**

"There's those baby blues I love so much! Welcome back!" Will said, as Jay opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him after examining all the tubs and wires attached to him.

"Hey. How is everyone?" Jay asked, waiting no time.

"Well, you got lucky. The bullet shattered your collarbone, and leaked a bunch of chemicals into your blood. You had a seizure when you came in, but it's resolved, and shouldn't happen again." Will explained.

"That's not what I was asking!" Jay said, giving his brother a slightly annoyed look.

"Ok ok! Kevin took one through the thigh, inches from his femoral artery. Luckily, it didn't hit it, and he should be fine in a few weeks. The bullet in Adam looked like it was entended for his liver, but he must've moved, because it also missed, by only inches. His surgery took a bit longer, but he's alive and awake. Hitting on all the nurses, of course. And as for Hank, he's as stubborn as ever. Wouldn't let anyone see him until he collapsed in the waiting room. He was right, the bullet only clipped him. He lost a good amount of blood though, and almost lost more when he kept fighting with Dr. Manning, trying to convince her he didn't need an IV. Everyone's fine Jay. Thank god." Will said, chronicling all the events of the last few hours. Jay listened intently, glad to here it. A few minutes later, Will left to tell Erin he was awake, and she soon rushed in. She kissed his cheek after screaming at him and making him promise to never scare her like that again. The rest of the night was filled with nurses, the occasional doctor, and Jay begging Will to sneak him some "real food" instead of the crappy green hospital jello. He hated that stuff nearly as much as he hated hospitals.

 **Later**

Kim pulled open the door to Molly's, and the team was greeted like heroes. They learned by word of their commissioner that the team had not only randomly stumbled upon, but managed to take down the largest underground drug ring the city never knew about, until now. They hobbled into the bar, all smiles and bandages.

"So what, you guys save all the world saving missions for after I'm gone or something?" Antonio asked with mock offense, as the team walked towards the bar, and sat down. Herman and Gabby quickly handed them each a drink, then gathered around, hoping for a story time about everything that went down.

"Hey so did you know that your brother is some kind of gun geek?" Adam asked jokingly, looking at Will.

"I mean sure, but I have a feeling there's a lot I don't know." Will said, giving his brother a curious look.

"Apparently he can tell you what type of gun just by the sound the bullets make. Not to mention how much amo they have left!" Adam boasted, giving Jay a light tap on the arm, careful to make sure it wasn't the injured one.

"Really? Now that's a story I want to hear!" Will said, raising his eyebrows at Jay.

"No way! There's no way!" Herman said, who was joined by Otis and the rest of the people within earshot of the group.

"He's right! Tell them your guess Jay. I have the case report here, so I'll tell them if your right or wrong when your done!" Hank said, holding up the folder.

"Well I'm probably wrong!" Jay said, putting a hand up, even though he knew he wasn't.

"Yea, well we'll be the judge of that! Come one!" Erin said with a laugh.

"Alright fine! The three guys had two M16s, and one AR15. The sniper had a...hmm... I wanna say... M107? Although you guys would know know it as a Barrett M82..." Jay said.

"Alright, genius, how much amo did they have left? You seemed to know when we were there!" Kevin asked, now thinking Jay was definitely bluffing.

"Well one of the M16s reloaded about a minute before we walked out from behind the cars, so he had to have been only a few bullets into his second clip, and the other M16 had only emptied half. As for the AR, he was about three clips in. He was definitely the ring leader." Jay answered, thinking back, and mentally replaying the sound of the bullets. Jay looked to see the growing smile of amazement and pride on Voights face, as he read the paper.

"No! No way! No way! He's right isn't he?!" Antonio said, putting his beer down immediately when he saw the look on Hanks face.

"To the T! I had the crime scene techs catalog everything and send it over. It's all right here!" Voight said, shaking his head as he passed the paper around.

"Can you do that Ethan?" Sharon asked after looking at the paper, then studying Jay herself.

"I wish!" Ethan said, still trying to wrap his mind around how Jay knew all this. The level of respect for Jay grew almost as much as the level of wanting to have him with them anytime they were in a gun fight grew tons that night. After this stint earned him a night without having to pay for any drinks, he and Erin snuck out and headed home.

"Did I ever tell you how great fun I am for you?" Erin sad, looking over at Jay, who was fusing with his sling, as usual.

"Multiple times. Especially in the last week." Jay said.

"I know. I...I guess I just want to make sure you know it. You saved my life. Your the only person who's ever taken a bullet for me." Erin said, reaching for Jay's hand, partially to get him to stop picking at the bandage, but mainly to get him to listen to her.

"And I'll do it a million more times if I have to." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

 **Hey guys it's me again! If your wondering about the bolder text inbetween a few of the paragraphs, that's in an effort to help separate the events of the story line better than I have in past chapters! Also, I really have no clue if it's actually possible to be anle to tell the different types of guns just by the sounds they make, I just thought it would sound cool? ﾟﾘﾂ** **? Thanks again so so much for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are great! Keep em comíng!**


	14. Chapter 14- N is for Nasal

N is for Nasal

Jay shook his head at his younger brothers choice of entertainment during the car ride. He was three chapters into a book by some famous doctor. To Jay, It looked like a way to fall asleep. He wasn't sure how it hadn't had that effect on Will yet, but it soon might. Just like old times. Will was always the one to have his head buried in some weird book. Jay never understood the fascination. Unless of course it was a history book on Americas battles.

"So even when your not at work, your still working, huh?" Jay asked Will, glancing at him rom the drivers seat of Jay's pickup. The Halstead brothers had snuck away and spent the last weekend at the families old cabin in the woods of upstate Chicago. It had been incredibly relaxing, and the brothers had spent most of the time exploring their old forts and reminiscing on all the memories made at the swimming hole just behind the log cabin.

"Oh don't act so innocent! I've seen you watching those crime documentaries!" Will snapped back with mock offense.

"Alright you got me there." Jay said with a laugh. He rolled the window down the rest of the way, letting the warm summer air blow against his face. He waited, counting down in his head until Will would say the same thing he does every time they rode together.

"Does the window really have to be open? It makes everything more difficult!" There it was.

"But it feels good! Maybe you'd think the same if you'd get your head outta that book!" Jay said.

"How much farther do we have?" Will asked, finally closing the book and setting it on the dashboard. He looked out the window at the luscious green woods surrounding them.

"Will I swear to god if your gonna start with this I will make you walk." Jay said, shooting him a look. He did this every time they went anywhere, and had since they were little.

"Just curious!" Will said, putting a hand up defensively. Jay shook his head with a laugh, and reached to turn the radio up. The pair road along quietly for a while longer. The night air felt good, and Jay switched into cruise control. The road was empty as usual, as not many people lived around here. Sure, there was the occasional long cabin or house here and there, and a grocery store every few towns, but other than that, nothing. But the two brothers didn't mind it. It was a nice peaceful break from the madness of the city. They were slowly making their way down the dirt road, when a bright flash of lights came through the back window and the rear view mirrors. Jay squinted, trying not to look at it.

"What the...? Where'd this guy come from?" Will sat up, trying to make out the kind of car.

"Turned on behind us about a minute ago! He's going way to fast!" Jay said, checking the speed limit.

"Yea well you can arrest him later! Get out of his way!" Will said, but it was to late. The car flew up behind them. The driver must've finally saw them, because the screeching of brakes sounded as the other driver locked them up. But it was no use, and the two cars collided. The force of the other vehicle propelled Jay and Will forward. Jay slammed on his brakes also, trying to keep control of the car, but ran directly into the ditch. They were stopped only by a large tree. Jay felt his head snap forward, cushioned only slightly by the airbag.

"W...Will! Hey! You alright?" Jay asked as he opened his eyes, and look across the cab, searching his brother for injuries, even though he knew he wouldn't be any good if he had any. After all, he wasn't the doctor in the family. He wiped a stream of blood off his face that was running towards his eye, hoping that he would soon be able to see better.

"Y..yea I think so. My collarbone is broken, but other than that.." Will said, assessing the damage to him and his brother. He carefully felt around his shoulder, and groaned in pain as he felt the divot, a sure sign of a broken bone. All the concern for himself quickly left him when he heard a groan from Jay, and looked up to see him slump back against the seat.

"Jay! Hey! Tell me what hurts!" Will said, ripping his seatbelt off, and moving across the cab to his brother, ignoring the protests his own body made. He instinctively began checking his vitals. He found a strong pulse, and his breathing was normal, so Will calmed slightly. Jay opened his eyes just as Will began looking at the deep gash on the bridge of Jay's nose. As he looked closer, he saw a piece of white sticking out.

"Stay still. You've got a bad Nasal fracture. Does anything else hurt?" Will asked, looking over the rest of his body for any signs of other injuries.

"Yea, my head! I thought the airbags were supposed to cushion your face, not break it." Jay said, squeezing his eyes against the pounding in his head.

"Yea, well maybe you should get a new truck. Let's get out of here." Will said, unbuckling him. Luckily for them, the side of the truck wasn't damaged, so they got out fairly easily. Except for the part where Jay almost passed out again from trying to move to fast. Will went to check on the other driver, but realized he had sped off right after the crash when he saw the tire marks. He walked back to where he had left Jay sitting against the side of the truck with an old shirt pressed against his nose. Will dug through the glove compartments and tool box for a first aid kit. Surprisingly, he found one.

"So you actually decided to take my advice for once huh?" Will said, opening up the kit.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay shot him a questioning look.

"You kept that first aid kit I gave you. I knew it'd come in handy someday." Will said, holding it up. He kneeled down next to his brother, putting a hand over the bruise from the seatbelt.

"I need to set your nose. I would wait to do it at a hospital, but uh...that may not be for a while considering our current situation. That also means I can't numb it, but if we wait, the bone could do more damage to the nerves. If that happens, you could have complications like..."

"OK! Alright! Just do it! I'll be fine!" Jay interrupted before his brother could launch into a bunch of medical jargon on he could understand, and began preparing himself.

"Are you sure?" Will asked, getting the supplies ready.

"Well it doesn't seem like you've given me much of an option. Let's just get this over with." Jay said. Will nodded, the positioned himself above Jay's face. Jay squeezed the side of Jay's leg as the pain intensified. He waited for it to get better, but it didn't.

"Almost done. One more push on this side and then I'll bandage you up." Will said when Jay let out a grimace from the pain. Jay nodded, and about a minute later, Will taped a gauze bandage over the cut. Then he sat down, and pulled out his phone.

"Thank God! I have a signal! Grab one of my sweatshirts, and make me a sling. I'll call for help." Will instructed. Jay pushed himself slowly to his feet, and grabbed a shirt. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard Natalie's voice on the other end. Even with Will's assurance that they were fine, she insisted that Chicago Med was sending their finest, and would be there in no time.

 **Later**

"Wow...how does the other guy look?" Dr. Choi asked with a small smirk at the sight of the brothers walking into the hospital.

"I don't know, we never got to find out." Jay answered.

"What do you mean? He hit you and just took off?!" Erin, who had suddenly appeared out of one of the rooms asked.

"Yea. Well, as far as we know anyway. I was out for a little while after it happened." Jay said, then explained the incident. Will thanked the paramedics who had found them, and steered the group into an empty treatment room. He started to work on Jay without even realizing what he was doing, and seemingly forgetting about his own injury. Chicago Med had a way of switching him into doctor mode every time he walked through the doors.

"And what do you think your doing?" Will looked behind him towards the familiar voice of Natalie, who was now standing in the doorway. She had run over as soon as she heard the two had arrived.

"Stitching up my patient. Then I'm sending him for a head CT and x-ray. I think he has a concussion, and maybe a few broken ribs, bruised at the least." Will said, confused by her question.

"Your not doing anything. Ethan will stitch him, and order the scans while I take a look at that shoulder." Natalie ordered, with a hand on her hip. One stern look from her, and Will complied.

"How do we Halsteads always seem to attract the bossy ones?" Jay asked with a laugh, earning him a light slap from Erin, even though she couldn't help but smile. Natalie blushed slightly, and quickly started her work. Will gave Jay a "thanks a lot!" Look, to which Jay rolled his eyes. He wished his brother would finally stop trying to hide it, and just ask Natalie on a date already. It was clear the two were perfect for each other. And he knew full well that hiding it doesn't work. Jay knew that Ethan felt the same way from the look on his face. As Jay lay there next to his brother, he began to think up a plan of how he would get the two together.


	15. Chapter 15- O is for Occipital

O is for Occipital

Jay opened his locker and quickly grabbed his vest, badge, and gun. Adam was next to him, trying to get his open. The team had just gotten word of a hostage situation, and the police needed all possible units within reach. Voight had volunteered their surfaces, and told the team to suit up as quickly as possible. Jay laughed at his friend next to him, who was still struggling to get the door open. He had finally gotten the lock off, but now it still wouldn't open. Jay stepped in because he could tell Adam was getting more and more frustrated.

"I got this. Sometimes they just need to be beaten into submission." Jay said. Adam raised his hands, and stepped back. Jay wound up, and kicked the locker as hard as he could. Adam rolled his eyes at Jay as the door swung open. He grabbed his stuff, shook his head, and walked out, not even bothering to replace the lock. Jay laughed, and followed. They all met back upstairs and made a plan. After strapping on his Kevlar, Jay and Erin made their way to their car.

Surprise crossed Jay's face as their line of cars rolled up to the scene. There was such a lack of police presence outside the building where the hostages were.

"Do we even have snipers?" Jay asked, searching the surrounding rooftops. There were two SWAT vans parked outside, and only a few police cars so far. The team parked the cars, walked to the command center under a tent.

"Hey, thanks for getting here so quickly." Sergeant Anderson said, shaking Voights hand.

"Of course. Theses are Detectives Erin Lindsay, Jay Halstead, Kevin Atwater, Adam Ruzek, Alvin Olinsky, and Kim Burgess. So what do we know?" Voight said, introducing his team.

"At least three hostage takers, all exits are rigged with explosives, except one. There's at least 15 hostages. Their all on the second floor." Sergeant Anderson said.

"You said there's one door that's not rigged? Where is it?" Al asked.

"Around back. I assume they don't know it's there." Anderson said. He pulled up the video of the heat signatures, showing the school students huddled in a circle in the middle of the room. There were three large men pacing the floor, all with large guns in hand.

"Have they made contact?" Voight asked.

"About 10 minutes ago. They threatened to start killing if we didn't pull out. Claimed they have snipers." Anderson said.

"Do we know where? Do we have counter snipers?" Jay asked, feeling the ever familiar itch to break out his rifle, and get comfy in his favorite snipers nest.

"We do. But we don't know how much longer their going to wait, so we need to go in." Anderson said. Voight nodded, and they were just getting ready to go in, when they heard a crash coming from the building. They looked up to see a boy flying through the window.

"That's a hostage! We're going in!" Voight yelled to his men after a look from Anderson. Jay and a group of cops who had just arrived rushed forward. They all split up, and Jay and Erin ran around the side of the building. They were going pastanother groups of officers, when he saw one of them going towards the wrong door. He looked at the officer in shock when he saw him reach for the handle.

"Wait! Didn't you hear?! The doors are rigged with explosives! We can't open those doors till Bomb squad disarms them!" Jay yelled, trying to grab the man's jacket to pull him off. It was no use. He didn't get Jay's warning in time, and yanked on the door as hard as he could. The fiery blast propelled them backwards, throwing Jay violently from the second story staircase they were on, to the cement sidewalk below.

Kevin shielded his eyes from the blast with an arm in front of his face. The two sergeants joined him, and looked in shock at the agents laying on the ground. They rushed over.

"Jay! Can you hear me?!" Kevin yelled, kneeling beside the limp body. Kevin looked worriedly at the pool of blood that was forming under his friends head, and pressed two fingers to the side of his neck, finding only a faint pulse. Jay had cuts and scrapes covering most of his face. His eyes were closed and unmoving.

"Where's Erin? She was with him!" Kim asked, joining them. Kim ran to where she spotted Erin, also unconscious on the ground. As for the officer who had opened the door, he had been closer to the blast, so he was thrown farther. Luckily for him, he landed in the schools newly plowed garden. The soft dirt had mostly cushioned his fall, and he stood up and pushed through the other cops who were trying to hold him down so he could be looked at.

"Oh my god! What happened?" He yelled, looking towards Erin and Jay.

"You opened a door rigged with explosives! Now you've injured two detectives! What the hell were you thinking?" Adam yelled, his concern for his friends coming out in anger.

"I...I thought we were going in!" He yelled back, still confused.

"We were, but through the door that won't blow us up! Maybe if you would've listened, you would've know this! But no! You were to busy talking to your girl! Yea. I heard your phone call! Now look what you did!" Adam yelled, charging at the man, fists clenched.

"Hey! Adam! It's not gonna help anything! Take a walk! NOW!" Al said, stepping in front of his enraged partner. Adam shot one last glare at the cop who was now receiving looks from his own partners, then walked away to cool off. The teams attention was drawn back to the fallen agents when Erin groaned, and opened her eyes. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by a sharp pain in her stomach.

"No no don't try to move. Take it easy Erin. Your gonna be ok, there's ambulances on the way." Voight said, guiding her back to the ground, knowing he'd probably have to hold her there. He moved slowly into her line of sight, knowing what she was looking at.

"JAY! Jay! Is he d...dead?! Come on Jay!" Erin screamed when she too saw the blood. There was to much blood.

"Erin look at me. ERIN! Look at me! He's alive ok? He has a pulse. It's weak, but it's there. He's gonna be ok. He's survived a bomb before, and he's going to do it again." Voight said, squeezing her hand and trying to reassure her, while also trying to keep her still. There was a small blood stain on her stomach that seemed to be growing since she moved. He looked up as the paramedics sprinted across the pavement. One came to Erin with a stretcher, and after much fighting and argument, which Voight expected, she was strapped to a backboard. What concerned him was the lack of argument from the other detective. In fact, the lack of any kind of movement or response coming from Jay had everyone worried. The amount of blood coming from the back of his head didn't help anything.

 **Later**

Will splashed the cool water over his face, and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. There were larger, dark circles under his slightly puffy, bloodshot eyes. He took a deep breath, dried his face off with a towel, and stood a few moments longer before pushing himself away from the counter and forcing himself to walk out of the bathroom and into the waiting room. He felt everyone jump at his presence, staring intently at him, searching his emotions for any answers. He forced a more optimistic expression to his face.

"How are they?" Adam asked, breaking the silence. Kevin was trying to comfort Kim, and Voight and Olinsky were thinking about the same thing. They had each lost a child in this hospital. Were they about to be told they had lost another family member.

"Their both stable. Erin has a lacerated spleen and kidney, and a few broken ribs, but we expect her to recover quickly. She should only need to stay about four days. Jay...he uh..he got it a bit worse. The blast smacked his head on the cement sidewalk, casing him to fracture his Occipital bone, sending a piece into his brain. We were able to retrieve it, but not without complications, of course. We lost...his brain function twice, but revived him. A piece of the skull had to be cut off to allow the brain swelling to heal. Then, after we closed him up, he stopped breathing due to trauma to his bad lung. He revived him again, but he's on a ventilator. It's...it's touch and go..." Will explained all the events of the last five hours to the people crowded around him. Hank put a strong hand on his shoulder. Will was trying to hide it, but Hank could see the pain in his eyes. Then Hank did something really out of character. He pulled Will into a hug. Will would usually have felt the urge to fight it, but he was mentally and physically exhausted. After pulling away, he took a deep breath and walked away. He was almost out of the waiting room, when a man walked up to him.

"Uh...hi. Your a doctor here right? So you know where all the patients are?" The man asked.

"Yea. Can I help you with something?" Will asked, looking the the discharge papers the man was holding, along with the badge around the man's neck.

"Yea I was wondering which room Jay Halstead is in? I'm officer Mason. I...I want to know his condition." The man asked. Will shook his head, slowly putting it together.

"You...you need to stay away from him." Will said, his voice starting to shake.

"Wh...why?" Mason asked, confused.

"Just...just get out of here ok!" Will said.

"Please, I just want to see him! I want to ask him if there's anything I can do for him!" Mason said, getting upset.

"Trust me, you've done enough! If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be here at all. He wouldn't have a hole in his skull. He would be able to breath on his own! Tell me, Mason, do you have any younger siblings?" Will asked, his voice starting to raise. This drew the attention of Voight and the rest of the team, along with Dr. Choi and Dr. Charles.

"Wh...what? Uh...uh..yea...a sister. What does that have to do with it?" Mason asked.

"Have you ever watched your sister nearly bleed out in front of you? Have you ever had to see her cough up blood? Have you ever had to see brain matter coming from her ear? No! Of course not. But guess what? I had to see all of those things today! All because of YOU!" Will was now livid, screaming at the man. He was never one to just explode like this, but before Jay came in, he had already lost two other patients, one of which was a little boy, not more than 7 years old. It was just to much for him to handle. Ethan was the first one to reach him, putting a gentle hand in his shoulders, pushing him away from the other man. Dr. Charles joined them, and they walked a now shaking Will back to the break room.

"I...I'm sorry. That was really out of character for me. I just...I.." Will stuttered, obviously embarrassed, as he settled onto the couch. Ethan was needed in the ER, so he gave Will a quick pat on the shoulder, then walked out. Dr. Charles handed Will a drink, then sat down opposite of him.

"You don't need to apologize to me. You've had an extremely hard day today. If you don't let your emotions out, they eventually force themselves out, and most of the time it's in the form of anger. Its very unhealthy, but it is normal." Dr. Charles said, looking at his young colleague. Will nodded, and laid his head back. They talked for a while longer, then Will decided to go sit with Jay. He thanked him, and walked away feeling much better.

 ** _Later_**

Erin rolled her eyes when she heard the commotion coming from Jay's hospital room. Two weeks had passed since the incident, and Jay was finally ready to leave. He hadn't had any further complications from the surgery, and was getting back to his old stubborn self. This time around, Erin had had to have a "discussion about Jay's behavior" towards the nurses and other staff. He wasn't always impolite, but he absolutely hated all the poking and prodding and questions. He had a pretty short fuse as is, and the hospital always seemed to get rid of it all together. So when Maggie and Will kept getting complaints from the nurses, Will decided to call in reinforcements. Or "the big guns" as Maggie had called it. Now, Erin prepared herself for the usual argument that came every time Jay was about to be discharged. She let out a sigh, and turned the corner into his room. Jay was furiously fighting with his t-shirt, trying to yank it over his head, and yelling at Will every time he tried to help him. Erin couldn't help but laugh at the scene as she took it all in.

"Thank god your here. Maybe he'll stop being such a hard ass!" Will said with an annoyed look.

"I'm not being a hard ass, I just don't need help!" Jay yelled back, finally pulling his head through the top of the shirt.

"Oh really?! Not like you've been trying to get that on for the last 15 minutes or anything. And don't even get me started on the pants!" Will retorted.

"Well I can't help that she picked out the tightest pair of jeans I own!" Jay said.

"Hey! One more ungrateful comment from you and I'll take these clothes right back and leave you here another week!" Erin said with the slightest hint of laughter in her voice, as she stepped over to him, and carefully but quickly pulled his arms into the sleeves, and pulled the fabric the rest of the way down. At that, Jay threw his hands up in surrender. He sat back down on the bed and reluctantly let Will finish checking him over. Erin walked out to grab a wheelchair and the discharge papers, and pushed it back into the room where Will was checking the long, jagged row of staples in the back of his brothers head. He placed a new bandage over it, then stepped back.

"Jay I swear to god if the next words out of your mouth are anywhere near "I'm not using that thing" I will personally sedate you! Try me!" Erin said as Jay opened his mouth with a look of disgust on his face. He closed his mouth, but the look remained.

"I've already said this, but I need to say it again so maybe you'll listen: Your brain is still recovering from the surgery, so you will have some issues with balance at times, and you may be sensitive to bright lights. That means no jumping, running, fast walking, or any of the things your thinking of doing right now. Your on modified bed rest until we can be sure the fragment we pulled out didn't do any lasting damage. That also means not hats of any kind. We don't need you popping any stitches or staples. Also, limited time with screens, tv or otherwise. Take your medication twice a day, and come in right away if you have any dark spots in your vision, tunnel vision, extreme headaches, nausea, prolonged periods of dizziness, or if you pass out." Will said, making sure Jay was looking at him the entire time.

"Yea yea fine! Geez you sound like those commercials for medication on tv!" Jay said.

"How are you feeling Erin? No problems since your surgery right?" Will asked.

"Nope! All good and healed up! Ready to play nurse for a while. I think I'm getting pretty good at it!" Erin said with a laugh, tankful for Will's concern. He nodded, and she signed the discharge papers, then helped Jay into the chair, and pushed him out. The two were pleasantly surprised to find the rest of the intelligence crew waiting for them in the parking lot. They all told Jay how thankful they were he was alive, and then drove back to Erin and Jays apartment for pizza and the hockey game.


	16. Chapter 16- P is for Phalanges

P is for Phalanges

"Keep your eyes open Jay! Keep talking to me ok?" Erin said, trying to hide the panicked tone in her voice. She squeezed Jay's shoulder a little tighter, making sure he looked at her.

"Wh..what should we talk about? Do you have cell reception yet?" Jay asked, fighting the fatigue that was raging through him, along with the pain running through his entire arm. The partners were in an abandoned warehouse, waiting for help to arrive. They had been in pursuit of a suspect when he led them in here, and in an effort to get Jay off of his tail, the man had shoved over the nearest stack of things to him. Jay had tripped on a crate coming around the corner, and wasn't able to move in time before the larger stack of hard wooden pallets had fallen on top of him. Jay had thought he was ok, and tried to get up when a sharp pain stopped him. His hand was trapped under the pile. Erin frantically tried to free him, but it was no use. She had been trying to call someone, but there was no cell service, and she refused to leave his side. He repeatedly said he was fine, but she could see the color draining from his face and tell that he was in pain.

"No. I know your feeling tired, but I need you to try to help me push these things off." Erin said, positioning herself to lift the pallets up. Jay nodded, and pushed his good hand against the bottom pallet. She felt a small nudge and started to push harder when Jay let out a cry of pain. She heard a few small pops, and Jay's breathing quickened.

"Stop stop! It's...crush...crushing it!" Jay yelled. She cringed as she realized what the pops were that she had heard. More of his bones were snapping each time the weight shifted. Her worry skyrocketed when she saw a red liquid start to seep out from under the wood. She knew he couldn't wait much longer, and pulled out he cell phone. She nearly cried with happiness when she saw the two single bars on her phone.

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 51, Officer trapped." Everyone in firehouse 51 looked up from their busywork, and listened to the call over the loudspeaker. They all jumped up and grabbed their gear, and the special gear for moving heavy objects. Gabby sent up a silent prayer for Antonio. Every time she got a call for an officer down, she feared what she would find when they arrived at the scene. The three vehicles left the building, sirens blaring.

Erin heard the sirens, and sprinted out of the side door to the street to wave the rescuers over. She would've been happy for anyone, but was especially thankful to she Chief Boden leading the charge of firefighters that were coming towards her.

"Erin? Are you ok?" Boden asked, seeing the frantic detective running towards them.

"It's Jay! We were chasing a suspect through the warehouse and the guy pushed a bunch of crates onto him! His hand is trapped underneath and we can't get it out! It's bleeding bad!" Erin said as the two lieutenants joined them, listening to the story.

"Cap, get the air bags and pumps. Tony, get crowbars. Everyone else, get in there and see if we can clear some of it away!" Kelly Severide yelled to his men. Erin turned on her heal and led the men to where Jay was laying, tottering on the edge of consciousness. Gabby knelt down beside him and began to check his vitals while Brett looked at the hand, trying to access the damage to the hand.

"How ware you? Hey. Jay talk to me, ok. We're gonna get you out of here." Matt Casey said, looking at the pallets on top of the detective, hoping for an answer. This man was family.

"I...I've b..been better." Jay said, managing a small smirk. Dawson wiped the sweat off his forehead and put her stethoscope to his chest, listening to his racing heartbeat.

"He's definitely got crush syndrome. We need to get him out of here right now." Dawson said to the men around who. Casey nodded, and they moved faster to pull the pallets off. Boden came to help after calling Voight to inform his of the situation.

"Hang on Jay, we got you. Almost done." Casey said, pulling off the last of the pallets, which left only the largest one that his hand was under.

"Erin, come hold this bag for me. I need to get some fluids in him." Gabby said. Erin held the bag, her own heart racing at the rate that Jay seemed to be slipping away. The men pulled finally pulled the last pallet back freeing Jay's hand. Casey and Otis were carry the pallet away, when Casey stepped on the corner of a stray crate, causing him to loose his balance. The sudden drop of Casey falling left all the weight of the pallet in Otis' hands, throwing him off. It slipped out of his hands and onto Casey's foot. Dawson jumped at the sound of her husbands scream of pain.

"Casey! Hey! You ok?!" Severide ran to his friends aid.

"MATT!" Dawson yelled. Conflict tormented her. She knew Jay needed her, but her instincts pushed her to rush to the aid of her man.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Stay with him!" Casey yelled, waving Gabby off. She was about to protest when she heard Sylvie calling Jay's name.

"He's going into shock! I need an oxygen mask right now!" Brett yelled. Gabby sprang into action as her other instincts kicked in, and she again came to the aid of her patient. She took the bag from Erin, and Boden, Herman, and Tony helped to get him onto a backboard. As soon as Jay was rushed out, the attention was turned to Casey. He had pushed himself up, all his weight on one foot. He tried to convince them he was ok, but nearly collapsed when a stab of pain went through his ankle. Kelly caught him, and draped an arm around his shoulder. Cruz came to the other side, then they each put a hand under his knees, and lifted him up. They carried him outside to where the Brett and Dawson were loading Jay.

"Go! He needs a hospital! I'm ok!" Casey said when he saw the look from Dawson. She nodded and pulled the door closed.

 **Later**

Will shook his head as he looked at the x-rays in front of him. Jay had been taken surgery to fix his shattered fingers and hand. He let out a huff as h continued to stare. Somehow his brother had managed to get himself hurt again, but of course, it wasn't his shooting hand. His trigger finger was still in tact. It was as if the universe knew he was meant for this job.

"How we doing in here?" Will asked, knocking on the door to the room where Casey was getting bandaged up. His broken ankle was being fitted for an air cast.

"All good Doc. Almost ready to go!" Dr. Choi said to his patient.

"How's Jay?" Matt asked.

"He's in surgery. The pallet broke every finger on his left hand, two of the fingers in two places. There's a few breaks in his hand also. He only minor crush syndrome, thanks to you guys. If you'd have gotten him out a minute later, he would've had nerve damage. We can tell by the shape of the nerves that if you would've gotten there any later, he likely would've lost at least three fingers. He would've had to give up his job, and that...well, let's just say it wouldn't go over to well. Thank you." Will said, reaching out to shake Matt's hand.

"Wow. He sure has a thing for dancing with fate doesn't he?" Matt said with shock.

"Yea, that's Jay for ya! He has since we were little. It started when he was five and decided he wanted to help dad split wood. Dad left to get him something his own size, but he wanted to be a big kid. He swung that axe as hard as he could, and actually managed to hit the wood. Bad thing was, the axe bounced back up and smacked him square on the jaw. First broken bone at five years old." Will said with a laugh and rolled his eyes, remembering how oddly calm baby Jay had been for having a broken jaw, and their frantic mother. He sure gave her fits of panic growing up.

"Wow. So where does he go from now? Will he be able to hold a gun still?" Gabby, who had been standing next to them, asked.

"Lucky for him, he's a righty. He'll have some metal plates put in to help the bones heal correctly, and then they'll come out when he healed up." Will answered.

"Glad to hear it!" Matt said as they gathered their stuff and left.

 **Later**

Casey propped his crutches up against the bar, and plopped down in the chair. Gabby walked back into the kitchen to put her things in the back for a night of serving.

"What can I get for you lieutenant?" Herman asked, walking up.

"Whatever's cold." Matt said with a smile.

"How's injured leave been treating you?" Herman asked.

"It's fine, but not gonna lie, Gabby's driving me nuts. Won't let me go anywhere without my crutches, and always wants me to rest. I'm ready to get this thing off!" Casey said.

"You and me both brother!" The two men looked towards the familiar voice, watching as Jay walked in, holding up the large, bulky cast covering most of his arm. He sat next to Matt at the bar, and scoped the crowd, making sure Erin had found friends before sliding the sling off. It took everything in him to not throw in the trash, but then again, he had tried that.

"Get him another one. His drinks are on me tonight!" Jay said to Herman, nodding towards Casey.

"To the crazy women we love so much, and the crazy things we put them through!" Matt said, raising his beer to Jay, who joined him in the toast with a smile.


	17. Chapter 17- Q is for Quiver

Q is for Quiver

This guy sure has a weird weapon choice Jay thought to himself as he stared at the pictures on the board, and the case file in his hands. The team was investigating the murder of a young man who was found isn't the woods after being shot with an arrow. They were a two days into the case with nothing. No suspects, no leads. Nothing.

"Man I hate this time in a case." Jay said shaking his head.

"What time is that?" Adam asked, looking up from his computer.

"The not knowing. The time where we have nothing. It's just kind of annoying." Jay said, starting to pace. Suddenly, it was as if God had heard his conversation. Jay studied the pictures on the board a little closer, then walked to his desk and began typing something in his computer.

"What'd you get?" Erin asked, looking at Jay who sat eagerly in his chair.

"Hm...?" Jay mumbled, not looking up from his screen. Now Erin knew he had a theory.

"What's on your mind? You have that look on your face." Erin said.

"Ok, so does anyone else find it strange that this guy was shot with and arrow? I mean sure, people hunt in those woods, but with guns. Nobody uses bows anymore. So that got me thinking, what shoots arrows with the same speed as a gun?" Jay said, once again pacing.

"A crossbow?" Al chimed in. The rest of the team was slowly catching on.

"Exactly. And the witness said he heard a click, like a gunshot, but quieter...that had to have been what he heard. It makes the most sense." Jay said, looking at the picture of the arrow.

"Ok, so now we know what weapon he used, but how does that help us?" Voight asked, walking out of his office.

"How many hunting stores are their in this Chicago? Not like there's many woods around here." Adam asked, thinking of a way to track the bow.

"Unless the guy bought it somewhere else." Kevin said.

"Well if he brought it in from out of state, he'd have to have had a permit for it! That's if he brought it in legally anyway." Jay said, going back to his computer to search the databases.

"Well it's a start at least. Run with it." Voight said. The team returned to their desks and continued their work.

 **Later**

Jay felt the instincts the army taught him kicking in as he and the rest of Intelligence made their way through the woods behind the cabin. The police tape was still up from days ago when the police had found this to be the primary crime scene. Even though it was early summer, the woods had a eerie feel to them. The team had arrived at the cabin a few minutes ago, and were now searching the woods for the suspect who had fled on foot.

"Does anyone have eyes on the suspect?" Voight asked through the earpiece. The same response came from each member of the group: the man was nowhere to be found.

"I know everyone split up to cover more ground, but this guy is armed and dangerous. Be careful, and watch your back a little extra. It's likely he's in camo." Voight continued. Everyone gave their affirmative, and continued the search. Jay heard a twig snap and jumped around, looking back with his gun ready to fire, but was met with only an innocent little fox who quickly darted away. Jay shook his head and continued on. I know we're supposed to be careful, but your a little extra jumpy. Calm down. Jay said to himself. He hated how much being alone in the woods brought back memories of his days overseas. He wasn't even stationed in a wooded area. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the flashbacks flooding into his mind. He was snapped back to reality when he heard a crack, and felt the wind of an arrow fly by his side. He spun around and raised his gun looking for the source. He was on high alert now, searching fervently around him for the shooter.

"Sarge I've got eyes on the suspect. He running north of the back on the cabin." Kevin's voice came through the earpieces, and Jay turned and began searching north of him.

"Follow him, but do it quietly! Don't spook him. Everyone else get over there." Voight said.

"Got it." Kevin responded, with the others affirming that they were coming. Jay kept searching, running towards the direction that Kevin had seen the man last. Suddenly, he heard another crack, and felt a sharp pain in his thigh.

"I found the suspects Quiver. Sarge, there's two arrows missing. Found one of them in a tree, but I don't know where the other one is." Kevin said, picking up the arrow.

"I...I've got a location o...on the other a...arrow." Jay said with a grimace.

"Where?" Kevin asked, looking around, slightly confused. He didn't see jay anywhere.

"It's...in my leg." Jay said, looking down at the bloody feathers of the arrow sticking out of his thigh.

Shock and worry filled the rest of the team when they heard Jay's response.

"Where are you Jay?" Voight asked.

"Uh...about four miles from the back of the cabin. The suspect just ran off to my left." Jay said, and everyone immediately took off in his direction.

"Don't you dare try to go after him Jay!" Erin yelled. It wouldn't surprise any of them if he tried. Jay sighed, and twisted himself so he was on his back, but his legs were turned, as to not push the arrow any further into his leg. Adam and Erin were the first to run over the hill that Jay was laying beneath. Erin picked up speed when she saw him, and was at his side in seconds. Adam looked around, searching for any signs of the shooter or his bow.

"I got him! Go!" Erin yelled to Adam, who took off. She then repeated the message to Voight, Al and Kim as they joined the pair and subsequently ran past.

"I'm..fine." Jay said, sitting up slowly.

"Uh, last time I checked, being fine didn't include having an arrow stuck in your leg!" Erin replied, to which Jay rolled his eyes. Erin pulled off the light plaid shirt she was wearing and tied off the wound. She strapped her vest back on, and continued to tend to him.

"But you love that shirt!" Jay said when he looked at her carefully cleaning the blood off.

"I do, but I can get another one. I can't get another you if you die on me." Erin said.

"I'm not going to die." Jay sighed.

"Yea I've heard that before." Erin said raising her eyebrow.

"And it's been true every time!" Jay defended.

"Listen guys, as much as I love listening to this, I think it's time we take a little trip to see how Will's doing. How about we get going?" The pair laughed at Adams remark in their ears.

When the group reached them, Adam and Kevin carefully helped Jay up, and carried his to the waiting ambulance.

 **Later**

Will felt the familiar worry sweep over him as he watched Jay being pushed through the hospital doors. He was busy with another patient, so he gave his younger brother a quick once over, and was shocked to see something sticking out of his leg. The questions ran rampant in his mind, mainly of how he managed to get himself into these situations. He shook his head, and refocused on his patient, knowing Jay was in good hands with Jeff.

When he finally finished, he walked over to the room that Jay was in.

"That's it. You've managed to hurt yourself in every way possible." Will said, looking at the arrow that they had just pulled out of Jay. Ethan was now stitching up the wound.

"Oh definitely, because I can shoot myself in the back of the leg. For sure." Jay said sarcastically.

"You just seem to be an injury magnet, that's all. You worry me." Will said.

"It seems like I worry a lot of people." Jay said.

"Well that's not a bad thing. That means you've got a lot of people that care about you!" Ethan said, finishing the bandage, and grabbing a pair of crutches from the corner.

"How is he?" Erin asked walking back into the room.

"All ready to go! Just a few stitches. Once they come out, you'll be good as new!" Ethan said.

"Thanks Doc." Jay said, getting up. Erin grabbed his stuff, and they walked out. He talked to Will for a little, and they agreed to go to diner later that evening.


	18. Chapter 18- R is for Radius

R is for Radius

"Jay! You alright down there?! Jay!" Jay heard a familiar voice calling his name. The voice sounded far away. Where was he? How did he get down here? And why did everything hurt so bad? Jay looked around him, and picked his head up off the cold surface he was laying on despite the jack hammer pounding that was happening between his ears. As he woke up more and became more aware of his surroundings, the events of the last few minutes replayed in his mind. He looked at the man laying beside him, and checked for a pulse. Great. He thought. There goes our case. He grunted in pain as the pounding got worse.

"Hold on Jay! Just stay still, help is coming!" The voice came again, and he now recognized it as Erin's.

"S...suspect...s d...dead...sar..." Jay forced he words out.

"Ok. How're you doing? You bleeding anywhere? Can you feel everything?" Jay saw Voights face appear above him. Hank began to search his detective for any signs of injuries, but it was hard to see from so far away.

"N...not that I... can see.. but my head...I can...feel everything...except my arm.." Hank grimaced at how much work it took for Jay to get a sentence out. He was in bad shape.

"Ok, just sit tight. Don't try to move." Voight said. Jay nodded, and forced himself to keep his eyes open.

"Hey Jay, we're coming down. We're gonna get you out." Kelly Severide appeared above him, and Jay watched as he and Stella repelled down the elevator shaft to where he was laying. Stella reached over and pressed two fingers to the other man's neck, then confirmed to the intelligence team that he was in fact dead. The perfectly placed gunshot between the eyes from Adam had killed him instantly. This was the perfectly planned method of freeing your fellow officer from the grips of a junkie turned murderer in withdrawal, in fact, it was by the books. What wasn't by the books was that when the heavy set man fell, the sudden drop of weight caused Jay to lose his balance, sending him in a free fall to the top of the broken down elevator below them. Erin had rushed to the ledge so fast that if it hadn't been for Hank's strong arm, she would've joined her unconscious partner three floors beneath them.

"Can you feel when I press here? What about here?" Stella asked, going carefully over Jay's extremities. She was also trained as a paramedic, so she knew exactly what to look for.

"Yea...y...ea.. n...no." Jay answered, still fighting the urge to pass out.

"Alright. I think you've got a pinched nerve in there. You got a nasty break in your radius., and because of the distance you fell, it's likely that it's stuck between the ends of the bone. We need to get him to an operating room before nerve damage sets in. Hand me the splint." Stella said, yelled get up to Dawson and Brett above them. Severide strapped the C collar on Jay as Stella carefully secured his arm. Then they carefully rolled him onto the backboard, and secured him into the rescue stretcher. The men up top slowly pulled him up. Once he was pulled to safety, he was immediately rushed off to the hospital.

 **Later**

"Come on Jay! Work with me here!" Will tilted his brothers chin up higher, looking down his airway. His throat was closing fast, and he needed to be intubated soon or it would be to late. He breathed a small sigh as he heard a nurse tell him he had found a lung. Will then quickly hooked the machine to the other end of the tube. After it was in place, Jay was whisked out of the room upstairs once again, leaving Will alone with his worries, and work.

 **Next**

"Dr. Latham turn the crank one more click. I need better access to the nerve." Connor said, shining his headlight onto the bones in front of him. Dr. Latham complied, and the cut was opened up further. He proceeded with the surgery, and cut each end of the twisted and broken nerve, removing the piece before sowing the ends back together. Confusion went through him as he felt a warm liquid splatter across his mask. Then it came across his glasses.

"Dammit. The the bone moved and severed an artery." Connor felt the small twinge of panic run through his brain that often happens when something unexpected happens in a surgery. Although it is distracting, it's never enough to throw him off his game. His focus remained, now it was simply of a different on a different tasked. He took the tool fro his assistants hand, and singed off the ends to stifle the flow of the blood. Then he fixed that also, and set the bone. When he was finished, he took his scrubs off and walked out to leave the rest of the team to close him up.

Connor pushed through the swinging doors and out into the observation room where he had been standing during the entire surgery. Connor fully expected to see his colleague standing their, watching and silently critiquing his handiwork. In fact, he would be more surprised if he wasn't there. Every time Jay was on this table, Will would be there, watching over him. Just like an older brother should.

"How is he? What was the arterial bleed from? Has it been resolved?" Will asked.

"The numbness he felt should resolve itself soon. When the nerve was being fixed, a piece of the bone cut the artery. Luckily, it was a small one, and I fixed it quickly. As for his lung and back, they should both heal perfectly fine. You may have to step him to the bed though. Something tells me he's not gonna like the term "bed rest" all that much!" Connor explained.

"Yea I don't think he will either. Thanks. I'll tell the others." Will said, walking towards the waiting room.

 **Later**

Jay woke to the sound of the monitors beeping, and actually felt slightly annoyed when he looked at his surroundings. He tried to met, but was met with a sharp pain In his back that stopped him. The Nasal canal kept pulling on his face, so he slowly reached up to it, and tried to pull it off.

"Hey! No leave it!" Jay heard the voice of Voight, and looked up to see him gently pull his hand away, and set it back down before replacing the tube under his nose.

"Wh..where's Erin?" Jay asked.

"Getting lunch. You got lucky once again kid." Voight said, sitting down.

"You broke your arm pretty bad, re injured your shoulder blade. You had some fluid in your spine that wasn't supposed to be there or something, but that's drained now. Your lungs survived everything this time, but you still seemed to fight us. You stopped breathing on the way here, but your brother saved you, once again. You really need to have him." Hank explained. Jay nodded, and promised that he would Thank his brother later. After more visitors and a very angry but concerned Erin, he was resting comfortably. Will was right, he didn't like the idea of bed rest at all, but knew he had no choice in the matter, so he decided to focus on healing.

 **Hey guys it's me again! So glad your all enjoying the stories! I still don't have any ideas for the letter Y, so any suggestions would be appreciated! Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks?**


	19. Chapter 19- S is for Stomach Ulcer

S is for Stomach Ulcer

Jay leaned back in his chair and rubbed his aching forehead. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the half full bottle of aspirin. Today was a paperwork day, and it sure was dragging on. He shook the bottle into his hand, and then set it down. Erin walked over just as he threw the pills into his mouth and swallowed them without the any assistance of a drink. He had been on lots of different medication throughout his life that by now, he was used to it, almost trained in how to swallow them without tasting the coating.

"You sure your ok?" Erin asked, giving him a concerned but suspicious look.

"Yea. Just a headache." Jay said, brushing off the question.

"Do you need me to get anything for you?" Erin asked.

"No. I'm fine. Really, I am." Jay said, getting up and walking into the break room for a snack.

"Jay you can cut the act." Erin said, lightly putting a hand on his arm.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know what today is the anniversary of. We've been together long enough, I know how hard this day is for you. If you need to go home, then go." Erin said, looking lovingly at him.

"Yea well then you know that I've tried that before, and it didn't work. It doesn't matter where I am in this city, the day still hurts just as bad every year." Jay said quietly.

"Look, all I'm saying is if you want to go visit the cemetery, Voight would understand. When was the last time you visited Logan?" Erin asked.

"After I talked that jumper off the ledge. I'll go tonight." Jay replied. Erin nodded, knowing it was no use to try to change his mind. The anniversary of the death of his best friend and fellow veteran was always the hardest day of the year for Jay. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket, and slipped it over his head. He doesn't usually physically wear them, but this day was different. He ran a finger over the inscription on the dog tag before settling it above his heart. What he didn't realize was how much it hurt Erin and the rest of those close to him. No one truly knew how to help him, and it made them feel so inferior. And so they pushed through the day, busying themselves with cases.

"Everybody grab your gear. We caught a case." The words from Voight rang like music in Jay's ears, and he jogged out to the locker room.

 **Two hours later**

The team was now on their way to a second location in search for the suspect, after he had fled his mothers house when confronted. All the yelling and stealing of tires made his headache worse, and had somehow managed to add a stomachache to the mix. It had started as soon as they left the scene, and was getting worse. Jay got a drink when they got in the car, but that only helped a little bit. Every bump they hit turned his stomach even more.

"What's wrong?" Erin asked, looking over at her partner, who seemed to be turning a different shade of pale every minute.

"Nothing." Jay said, and stared out the window.

"You know, your a horrible liar. You look pretty green." Erin said with concern.

"It's just a little stomachache. Probably cause I haven't eaten much today. It'll go away." Jay said, even though he knew it was something different. This wasn't hunger pains. He pretended to glance at something behind them, and quickly popped two more aspirin in his mouth from his pocket. A little voice in the back of his head told him he should stop with the pills, but another said that they'd make him feel better. The second one won out once again.

Jay hopped out of the car as they rolled up to the scene. He strapped his vest on with the rest of the group, and headed into the building. Anything to take his mind off what the day meant was a much welcomed distraction for Jay. He needed desperately to focus on something other than the sadness, or even the pounding that remained in his forehead. Intelligence crept along in a single file line, each pair following closely behind the other, occasionally ducking in and out of rooms. Jay caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and signaled to Erin before breaking off to go after the man. They all split up, moving along quietly, hoping not to spook the man, but it was no use, they were made.

"CPD Stop!" Jay yelled out, and sprinted off after the man. He was the closest, so he identified himself first. He chased the man through the warehouse and out onto the street, with Erin on his tail. Voight began to yell orders to be other detectives, and the rest of them ran back to the cars to follow him on the road.

The chase soon took a turn down and alley, leaving the man trapped in a corner. He realized this as Jay came up behind him. He looked for any fire escapes, but found nothing.

"Get on the ground, interlace your fingers! You've got nowhere to go man!" Jay shouted. The man knew it was fight or flight, and he chose fight. He kicked Jay in the knee when he wasn't expecting it, and a vicious fight between the two men broke out. As a last attempt to get free, the man landed a sucker punch to Jay's stomach. Jay doubled over in pain, but quickly recovered, and tackled the man before finally cuffing him. Erin rounded the corner with Kevin and Al close behind to find a bloodied Jay leaning up against the the wall with a hand over his stomach.

"Jay! You alright? You ok?!" Erin asked, immediately giving him a once over when he pushed himself to his feet. He drew in a deep breath and spit a mouthful of blood and saliva onto the ground.

"I'm fine. Erin! I said I'm fine!" Jay snapped. Erin threw up her hands, and they all moved out of the way as Jay practically drug the wounded man towards the car in handcuffs.

 **Later**

Jay splashed the cool water over his face, and dried off the blood from his lip before opening the door to leave the bathroom. He had popped two more aspirin when they had returned two the precinct moments ago, telling himself now that they for the cuts on his face and arm from the ground he had been shoved against. He was about to rejoin the team in the bullpen when suddenly his stomach flipped. He bent over the toilet just in time to watch his breakfast- if you could even call a coffee and half a piece of toast breakfast- make its second appearance of the day. _And I thought this day couldn't get any worse_ he thought, slowly standing up and rinsing his mouth out. He stood a few moments longer before walking back out, hoping no one would notice how long he was gone. He shook off a questioning look from Voight, along with a concerned look from Erin, and proceeded to put in his own two cents about the case, trying to act like nothing was out of the ordinary.

 **Later**

"Come on Jay open the door! You've been in there for like ten minutes! Your not ok!" Erin yelled, pounding in the door once again. They had gotten home from work about three hours ago, and after they had both showered, and Erin forced Jay to eat something, he had popped another aspirin, and sat on the couch. Erin knew to be there for him, but mostly just leave him alone on this day. It was always the most strained in the house. Erin had watched a hockey game with him, all the while paying attention to the way he kept holding his stomach, then watched him walk into the bathroom minutes ago. When she heard the awful sound of him throwing up multiple times, she had raced over, only to find the door locked. She finally heard a click, and pushed the door open to find her boyfriend slumped against the wall next to the toilet. There was fresh vomit int the bowl, and Jay was sweating profusely. Erin ignored the smell, her body overridden by the instinct to help the man she loved. She kneeled beside him, and wiped his face off with a nearby cloth.

"I'm..fine." Jay said between trying to catch his breath from the last few minutes of throwing up.

"You know, I bought that earlier today, but not anymore. Your not ok, and you need help, and your going to let me help you, WITHOUT argument." She said, as she began to clean him up. She helped him back to the couch with a trash can, then walked back into the bathroom. Shock filled her as she picked up a small bottle off the floor.

"How many of these have you taken today?" Erin asked, holding up the empty bottle of aspirin.

"I...I don't know." Jay shrugged it off, before an intense pain filled his abdomen once again, and he emptied his stomach into the trash can once more.

"My god Jay! This bottle was half full this morning! You took over 12 of these tablets today! No wonder your all messed up! That's it! I'm calling Will!" Erin said, filled with worry.

"Hey Erin what's up? How's Jay doing? I know today is...a rough one." Will said, answering his phone.

"He not good. I need you to come over and check him out." Erin said, pacing the kitchen.

"Why? What happened?" Will asked, pulling the phone away from his ear as the sound of someone throwing up filled it.

"He's been throwing up for the past two hours, and he complained of a headache all day. He's knows what I meant Jay, just hush! Ok he says he hasn't been complaining, which is true but whatever. He's taken over 12 aspirin today without me knowing. Is that what it is?" Erin said when Jay cut in.

"My god! Yea that's most likely the issue! I know he's gonna hate this, but you need to bring him in right now. He needs to have his stomach pumped. It sounds like he's given himself a stomach ulcer." Will said, putting together the information and the symptoms.

"Ok. We'll be there in a few minutes." Erin said, and hung up.

 **Later**

Erin had gone out to the vending machine for a snack, and now walked back into Jay's room. She nearly dropped her bag of chips when she looked at the empty bed in front of her.

"Will! Will! Where's Jay?!" Erin asked, running towards the nurses station after sprinting out of the room.

"He's in his room..? I just checked on him a few minutes ago!" Will asked with a confused look, while following the frantic Erin back to the room he had left his brother in moments ago. Erin began pacing the floor, trying to think where he could've gone, the suddenly stopped.

"You know what? Never mind. I know exactly where he is." Erin said, putting it together.

"Where?" Will asked.

"With Logan." Erin said, and grabbed her stuff and the things Jay left behind before walking out. Will was concerned for a moment, before he soon understood what she meant.

"You forgot the flowers." Erin said lightly, hoping not to spook her boyfriend. She found Jay exactly where she expected. He was staring into the wind, lifting his weight back and forth. She set the bouquet of roses mixed with small blue flowers on the well kept tombstone.

"Yea, I guess I did. Thanks." Jay said with a sigh.

"You scared me today. You almost overdosed." Erin said, tucking her small body under his shoulder.

"Wouldn't have been the first time. Especially on this day. But thanks to you, I've never gone that far." Jay said, pulling her into his tall, warm frame.

"What do you mean?" Erin asked, looking up at him.

"When I got back, it was Logan. He was always the one that kept me sane, kept me alive. When he died, I didn't know what I would do. Then you came along. Just when I needed you. You saved my life Erin Lindsay, and I will forever be indebted for it." Jay said, pulling her closer still. Erin looked into the deep blue eyes that were staring into her with so great an amount of affection that she had never felt so much love from anyone before. She planted a light but loving kiss on his lips, before returning to stand in silence with him, respecting the fallen soldier who had certainly died a hero. After a few more long minutes, Jay traced a finger over the dog tags around his neck, the breathed in a deep, but happy sigh.

"Let's go home." Jay said. Erin nodded, and pulled herself away from him, taking a few steps back. Jay straightened himself, standing tall. He lifted his hand slowly to his forehead, and saluted his friend. A smile crossed his face along with a wave of peace as he looked into the distance to see a misty figure framed by light who seemed to be returning his salute. He gave the figure a happy nod, and turned away to rejoin Erin as the walked off together.


	20. Chapter 20- T is for Tasered

T is for Tasered

"Stop squirming! The more you move, the longer it's gonna take me to get them out!" Erin snapped at Jay, who once again pulled his arm away from her tweezers.

"It's already taking to long!" Jay huffed. He grabbed another set of tweezers from his desk beside them, and began to pick the little pieces of gravel out of his torn flesh.

"So do you believe me now?" Voight asked, walking over to the pair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay asked with a hint of anger creeping into his voice.

"I told you Karl Matts was a dangerous man. He's connected. You need to either stay here, or be at your house with guards outside. No more arguments." Voight said, looking at the young detective. Jay sighed, and continued to pick the stones from his arm.

"Alright, so Matts has priors for stalking, harassment, burglary, armed robbery, and multiple counts of assaulting an officer. After today's stunt, it looks like he's got more people in this city under his thumb than we think." Adam said, pining a mugshot to the board, above two pictures of other suspects. Erin looked up while continuing to read and follow the directions Will had sent her on how to treat Jay's wound. She had wanted to take him to Med, but everything had happened so fast, and the precinct was closer to them. Jay looked at the pile of pebbles on the napkin next to him, and thought back on the events of the past hour.

 _Jay stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing around him. He spotted his CI a few feet away, and walked up to him. Jay kept his guard up, noticing the man looked more nervous than usual. He instinctively brushed his hand against the pistol hidden in his waistband._

 _"Hey man! Whats up? You said you have something for me?" Jay said, shaking his hand._

 _"Uh...y..yea. Yea I do. I got wind this morning of a gang hit that's about to go down." Pat said._

 _"You get a location? Which gangs?" Jay asked, checking around them. The man was more shaky than usual, and kept looking at a building behind them. Something was up._

 _"Uh..yea.. tomorrow. Uh..morning... I can't do this! You gotta get out of here man!" Pat said, lowering his voice, and finally looking into Jay's eyes._

 _"What? What do you mean?" Jay asked, checking around them._

 _"Karl Matts! He's coming after you! He's here man! He put me up to this! Get out o..." Pat suddenly cut off, and dropped to the ground. Jay's hand snapped to his gun, and he whipped it out, pointing in the direction the shot came. Off in the distance, he spotted a man in a dark hoodie lowering a gun. The man turned around, and Jay quickly took off after him after checking his friend for a pulse, even though he knew there wouldn't be one. A direct shot through the back of the head doesn't usually leave people alive. He took off with his gun raised, but when he reached the spot he had seen the man standing, it was deserted. Jay bent to pick up a single shell casing, the looked down the alleyways surrounding him, but saw nothing. He was about to reach for his radio when he felt two pricks of pain fly into his back, immediately followed by an intense shock wave of pain through his entire body, paralyzingly him. He gasped for breath as his body seized up, and he dropped to the ground. Then everything went dark._

 _Jay grunted, slowly opening his eyes. He tried to roll from his stomach, but was stopped by a soft, warm hand pressing gently against his shoulder._

 _"Stay still Jay. I need to get the prongs out." Erin said. Jay sighed, and relaxed at the sound of her voice. After she had carefully removed them, she helped him roll over._

 _"Wh..what're you doing here?" Jay asked, looking at Erin and then at Adam, who was standing over a dead body. Jay recognized the hoodie as the man who had shot his CI._

 _"Apparently we were a little faster than you today. After you left, Voight put it together that you were walking into a trap. We came after you, and we saw two men dragging you to a van." Erin explained._

 _"Where'd they go? One of them killed Pat." Jay said, sitting up despite the pain._

 _"Take it easy. Adam killed that one, I grazed the other guy. He dropped you and sped off." Erin said._

 _"We need to keep track of any gunshot victim that comes into any hospital. We have a first aid kit at the precinct, right?" Adam asked. He and Erin helped Jay up, who was still wobbly from the taser hit._

 _"Yea. Why?" Erin asked as the set him down carefully in the back seat of the car._

 _"Something tells me taking him to a public hospital wouldn't be the best idea right now. If Matts finds out he didn't kill him, he's probably going to come after him again." Adam said._

 _"Good point. Not that he'd want to go anyway." Erin said, rolling her eyes. Jay had started to say something, but there was no need. She knew exactly where he was going._

Jay was shaken from the memory by the a stinging pain in his arm. He yanked it away and looked down to where Erin was cleaning the cut with peroxide. Then she covered them with Neosporin infused bandages, and lightly wrapped his arms and hands. The right hand and wrist had taken the brunt of his fall, and was torn up the most. Erin handed Jay a bottle of Advil, but he refused it, and set it back in her desk drawer.

"I don't need that." He said, still agitated of the whole situation.

"Jay, have you seen your arms? That has to hurt!" Erin said quizzically.

"This isn't the first time I've scraped up my arms. I'm fine." Jay said.

"Ok for one, this isn't just a couple scratches. Two, you got tasered at a voltage that they use on men twice your weight! I need to watch you and make sure there's no ill effects. Do you feel ok?" Erin asked. With the look on her face, Jay knew it was no use to lie to her.

"I'm a little dizzy, but other than that, I really am fine." Jay said with a sigh.

"Good. Now let's keep it that way. Your not leaving this building without an escort." Voight said, overhearing their conversation. The annoyed look returned to Jay's face, but he said nothing, instead returned his attention to the rest of the group, who was focused on how they were going to catch Karl Matts.

::::::

 **Sorry for the short chapter... I'm thinking of eventually adding more to it because I liked the story line and the idea, but rn I'm out of ideas. Maybe I'll add more to I think some day!**


	21. Chapter 21- U is for Undercover

U is for Undercover

"Yo Jason! King needs to see you!" Jay looked up from the poker game at the sound of his Undercover name. He had saved the life of the son of a major crime boss, a man only known as King. Jay was off duty when he saved Artemis, and he saw it as one of the biggest breaks the Chicago police department was going to get when it came to finally bringing down the crime family. After much argument and assuring, Erin agreed to let him go in alone. Not that she had much of a choice though. There was no way Voight was letting Erin anywhere near King. Sure, he knew she was capable of just as much as Jay, but what she didn't know was that Hank and King had history. King knew he was a cop, but not who his detectives were. All expect Erin. Hank had spotted his nemesis one day while at a diner with Erin. She was wearing her badge, and Hank saw King catch a glimpse of the shiny shield. He had so far successfully kept King off her, but he had yet to tell her about him. That was, until two days after Jay had infiltrated their organization. Erin was less than thrilled to learn that the man she cared most about was working for a man that had killing Hank Voight as one of his main life goals.

"What's he want?" Jay asked, standing up from the table and walking to where Arte was standing.

"For you to meet him out back. Look man, I don't know who you are, but if your not who he thinks you are, you'd better not be a snitch. You know how he hates those." Arte said.

"Wow Arte. I have to say, I'm shocked. Usually people are more friendly to the person that saved their life. Especially in this business." Jay said, not backing down from Artemis' glare.

"Yea well when that person isn't who they say they are, they don't deserve friendliness." Artemis said.

"Whatever man. Your loss!" Jay said, grabbing his coat, and heading the direction he was pointed in. He played it cool to keep his cover, but inside he had a bad feeling that this was a setup. He slowly opened the door, and stepped into the dark Chicago night. King was standing under the street lamp with two men beside him.

"J..Jason!" Jay's protective instincts kicked into hyper drive when he heard the young voice that was now riddled with fear. He fists clenched as anger filled him when he saw her face.

"What the hell is this?!" Jay shot the question at King, who hand his arm tightly around the girls chest with a gun pressed tight to her temple. Jay reached up to his jacket and switched on the camera that was taped to his chest against the zipper, trying to make it look natural.

"You tell me Jason. But that's not your name, is it? None of this is what it seems, huh? Tell me who you work for." King said, contracting his muscles against the struggling teen.

"Fine. But first you let her go. She's got nothing to do with this!" Jay said.

"Oh really? My sources tell me soon after you got here, you promised to get her out of here. Told her you can help her. And how do you plan to do that? You a cop?" The last word sent warning signals off in his mind. Was his cover blown? Or was King bluffing? He hadn't told Maddie he was a cop, but he couldn't just sit by and watch how the men treated her. She was only 19. He had told her he would help her, and she believed him. They became friends. Now look what that got her.

"If I was a cop, don't you think your boy would be in jail by now? Sure, they might've taken him to the hospital, but he would've gone straight to lock up after that. He's still here isn't he? So maybe you should check your "sources" !" Jay said, surprising King. He could see him taking it in thinking everything over. He loosened his grip on Maddie, and Jay thought they were finally in the clear when suddenly, one of the men standing to the side stepped forward.

"Boss your not gonna like this." The man said, handing King a phone. He narrowed his eyes as he read further on the screen.

"You know, I have to give you some credit Jay. You had me fooled for longer than most. It's a real shame, I liked you. To bad, now I'm gonna have to kill you both." King said looking up, and handing the screen back to the man. Jay was sent into fight mode instantly when he heard his name. Now that there was no doubt his cover was blown, he had to focus on how he was going to get Maddie out of here alive. He rushed towards King, tackling both him and Maddie to the ground just as the gun went off. He wasn't on the ground long before the two men practically pounced on him, ripping him away before he could see where the bullet went. Now he was fighting for his own life. He fought the men viciously, even getting a few punches in on King before he tossed Maddie aside. Pain ripped through Jay's stomach as multiple punches landed on his ribs. A sudden, painful blow to the back of the knee from a long metal pole from the trash beside them took Jay to the ground in a heap.

"Hold him up!" King ordered. The two men each grabbed Jay under his arms and pulled him up, holding him despite his struggling. Jay tried to get a look around the grading hair of the man, praying that Maddie was still alive. He had promised.

"Not bad Ranger, not bad. It's a real shame you had to be a cop. Otherwise I would've kept you in the family. Real shame." King said. Jay narrowed his eyes, still racking his brain as to how King suddenly knew everything about him, down to his military days. Then all at once, that was no longer the most pressing thing on his mind as he felt a sharp pain twist into his side. His breath stopped in his throat as the pain filled his entire body, and only got worse as the men released their grips on his arms, and he dropped to the ground like dead weight.

 **Meanwhile...**

Erin sat at her desk, nervously tapping her foot against the tile floor. _He should've called to check in by now. Why hasn't he called?_ The frantic thoughts ran rampant in her brain as Hank walked out of his office to join the rest of them.

"Anything yet?" Voight asked.

"No. Hank, I got a bad feeling about this. He should've checked in by now." Erin said.

"We can't call and risk blowing his cover. Maybe he's just caught up with something." Voight said.

"Uh Sarge...we got a problem." Adam said, his expression changing to a slight hint of fear as he looked at the screen in front of him.

"An anonymous server hacked into our database and opened a file." Adam said.

"How much did they see?" Voight asked as everyone gathered around Ruzek desk, slowly putting together what he was saying. Jay's detective file had been opened.

"Everything."

 **Back in the alley...**

Jay let out a gasp of pain as he forced himself into a sitting position. He pressed a hand to the wound in his side, not needing to look at it to know it would come away bloody. He pushed past the pain, and dragged himself to where Maddie was laying on the ground, curled into a ball a few feet away. He gently put a hand on her arm and rolled her over.

"Hey. M...Maddie. It's me. You..ok?" Jay asked, checking her for injuries.

"Y...Yea. The b...bullets in my chest. B..but I'm ok." She said. Jay couldn't help but smile at how much that sounded like something he would say. He pressed a towel he found nearby to the wound.

"So your a...cop? I k..knew it." Maddie said through the gasp of pain from the pressure on the wound.

"I told you I was gonna help you, and I am. You need a hospital, and lucky for you, we happen to be close to the best one in this entire city." Jay said. Panic mixed in with the adrenaline that was surging through him as he watched the sweat run down her face, and her eyes roll into her head. He tried to stifle the involuntary cry of pain that escaped him as he picked her up, and pushed himself to his feet.

Jay ignored the black spots forming in his vision, and pushed himself to got faster. His breath came in quick pants as he finally stumbled through the sliding doors of Chicago Med.

"Jay?! What the...?!" Maggie asked with surprise and worry at the sight of the battered, bleeding man walking in with the limp body of a girl in his arms.

"Sh...she got sh..ot. H...help her..." Jay forced the words out. Maggie ran out from behind the counter, and was quickly joined by Ethan and Will.

"Jay?! Are you ok?! What happened?" Will asked, looking at the pale, bloody face of his brother. Dr. Choi carefully took Maddie from Jay's arms, and began yelling orders as he wheeled her away on a gurney.

"Under...cover went...bad..." Jay said. His adrenaline was finally tapering off, and was quickly replaced by overwhelming pain. Will looked at the sudden fear in his brothers eyes, before glancing down at his abdomen to see the blood pouring from the open wound.

"Shit! Maggie! Get me a stretcher right now! He was stabbed!" Will yelled. He locked his knees as Jay's eyes slid shut, and he collapsed into Will's arms.

 **Later**

Jay drew in a deep breath, and slowly opened his eyes to the sound of the heart monitor, and the occasional whoosh from the nasal canal under his nose. He looked around, slightly confused by the sights in front of him at first. The last thing he remembered clearly was picking Maddie up off the cold pavement, and then vaguely the worried face of Will.

"Welcome back Jay." He looked towards the familiar, soothing voice, and gave her a weak smile.

"Hey." He said, looking to where Erin had scooted closer in seeing his eyes open. He squeezed her warm hand.

"How's Maddie?" He asked.

"She recovering. You managed to get her here just in time. Surgery went well. She told me to tell you how thankful she is that you kept her promise. So are her parents." Erin said.

"Good. God, she's been through so much. I just...I couldn't leave her there. I looked in her eyes, and all I could see was a younger you. She's got such big dreams." Jay said. The compassion Erin saw in his eyes made her fall even more madly in love with him.

"You really are something else Jay Halstead." Erin said, shaking her head before placing a gentle kiss above the deep purple bruise on his cheek, that was just one of many.

 **Weeks Later**

"Hank Voight. In the flesh. What can I help you with today?" Voights jaw clenched even tighter at the sound of the man's voice.

"Been a while King. You can help me first by getting your men off my ass. I've got plenty of my own waiting outside, but I figured I'd give you the option to do this peacefully first." Voight said, glaring at the man that was standing just a little to close for his liking.

"You always were very direct. And what exactly do you intend to do "peacefully" ?" King said, motioning to his men, who backed up.

"Taking you back to the precinct with me." Voight said.

"That's rich. On what grounds?" King said with a laugh.

"Well I could list them all, but we'd be here for a while, and I sure don't have all day. Let's just go with attempted murder of a police officer." Voight said, taking a step closer.

"I take it from the word attempted that it didn't work. Huh, guess I need to work on my skills a bit more." King said.

"Well, I'd say your losing your touch, but that would be false flattery. You never had it. By the way, you've got something on your shirt. What'd you say we do this the easy way?" Voight said, motioning to the red laser beam rested over Kings heart. He shook his head with a laugh, and quickly reached into his pocket. Shots rang out the moment a handle was spotted. King was finally dead.

A few tense minutes later, after the rest of Kings crew was arrested, Voight walked out of the building behind the body bag carrying the man he had hunted for years. A small smile crossed his face as the reassurance that his city was just a little bit safer danced its way into his mind. He felt a pat on the back, and turned to shake hands with Jay, who swung his snipers rifle over his back.


	22. Chapter 22- V is for Vest

V is for Vest

"Atwater and Ruzek, you take the back. Burgess and Olinsky, you take the south side. Halstead and Lindsay you take west side. Each will be accompanied by a SWAT team. Stay close to each other, and whatever you do, don't turn your earpieces off. We breech on my call." Voight jumped out of the car to join the rest of his team. He gave them directions as the all loaded their weapons and split up. They were here to take as many of the suspects in the building as possible, dead or alive. These men had been on a bank robbing and killing spree all across Chicago. Jay led his team, and signaled to them to be ready as he smashed the window and threw in the smoke grenade on cue with the others. Yelling erupted from the group of men inside as the frantically grabbed for their weapons through the smoke.

"All units go! Breach!" Voights voice rang through the earpieces, and each group kicked the doors in, and ran into the smoke. Jay looked around the room through his goggles at the heat signatures. There were 6 it total, and they were now running around, grasping desperately for their weapons. The teams were ordered to take them alive until they picked up their guns. Jay took out one of the men when he clumsily grabbed his weapon through the fog. Three more were killed by the other officers, and the two remaining men started to kneel as the fog cleared and they saw the amount of cops and their dead friends. Jay ought they were in the clear, and rushed forward to arrest them when one suddenly flung his semiautomatic rifle up from the ground, and held down the trigger. Jay felt a sharp pain tear through his chest as he was thrown backwards. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, more armed men joined them, running into the room guns blazing. Jay felt another stab of pain, then another, until he finally hit the cold cement floor. He heard someone scream his name through the earpiece, and tried to respond, but the ringing in his ears and pounding chest kept him quiet.

"Talk to me! Does anyone have eyes on Halstead?!" Voight yelled, fear gripping him.

Every instinct in his body was yelling at Jay to move, to get up and return fire, but the pain that was surging through his upper body held him on the ground. He gasped for air, feeling like he had been hit in the chest by a train. Then suddenly, a face appeared above him, and two strong hands grabbed the shoulders of his Kevlar and dragged him to safety behind a nearby wall. He looked up into the worried face of Erin, followed by that of Kevin.

"Dammit...I went in to soon! Wh...where'd they all come..from?!" Jay said between gasps for air. He tried to sit up, but was held down.

"Don't try to move. Your gonna be fine!" Erin yelled over the gunfire that was still raging on. She carefully slid her hand underneath the Kevlar, praying that it had done its job.

"Your ok! Your vest caught them." She said.

"Sarge! Were pinned down in here! Permission to use the last grenade?" Kevin yelled.

"Of course! I need an update on Halstead!" Voight said.

"I'm fine Sarge. Took three in the vest. Those guys came out of nowhere!" Jay said, propping himself against the wall, and gingerly loosening the straps on the vest.

"Good to hear your voice. Everyone hold you positions, I'm sending backup in now. As soon as their in, you guys get out!" Voight yelled to his team. They each acknowledged that they would in between rounds of shots.

"Alright everyone take cover!" Kevin yelled. He waited for the all clear from each member of his team before pulling the lethal grenade from his pocket. Gunfire from the cops ceased, and all seemed peaceful for the seconds it took Kevin to pull the pin, then heave the explosive around the wall into the room. Jay tucked his head into his chest and waited for the blast to clear. Everything was silent. The intelligence team slowly crept out from their hiding spots and out into the daylight as the new agents came to replaced them.

Each ember of the team was handed a water bottle as they wiped the sweat and soot off their faces. They all grouped together, waiting for someone to say something. Voight finished talking to the commander of the backup squad, then walked over to Jay.

"You sure your alright?" Voight asked, looking his detective over.

"Yea. Just a few bruises." Jay said, delicately pulling his vest off.

"If your fine, then why are you bleeding?" Burgess asked motioning to Jay's shoulder. His shirt had a small tear in it, and there was a small trickle of blood staining the sleeve.

"Come on! This is my favorite shirt!" Jay said with a huff of disappointment as he pulled at the torn fabric. Erin came over and gently rolled the sleeve up.

"You should buy a lottery ticket because you sure are getting lucky today! Looks like a bullet grazed you. Doesn't look deep though. Some TLC from me, and you'll be as good as new!" Erin said with a small smile. She was walked away, and came back moments later with the first aid kit. After cleaning and wrapping the cut on his arm, she helped him roll his shirt up, revealing three large, swollen red welts.

"Ohh...that's gonna hurt in the morning!" Adam said with a grimace, looking at the bruises that were already forming.

"The morning? It hurts now!" Jay said with a huff. Erin pulled out a roll of gauze bandage and wrapped the wounds. The first was a couple inches below his left collarbone, the second square in the middle or his sternum, and the third was a bit lower on the left side of his abs.

"See! Who needs a hospital when you've got her!" Jay said to the team standing around him with a laugh.

"Yea, well you've certainly given me plenty of practice!" Erin said, to which Jay rolled his eyes. After he was fixed up, the team left the scene.


	23. Chapter 23- W is for Wrists

W is for Wrists

Jay clenched his fits against the pain that was spreading through his entire body. He then released them when the movement caused a piercing pain in his wrists from the thick rope that was holding them to the chair he was in. He barley contained a scream of pain when his captor landed one last blow to his exposed stomach. He took a deep breath, trying to stop the spinning that the pain had caused. Jay glared at the sick grin that stretched across the man's face as he put down the metal pole, one of the various objects Jay had been beat with for the last three hours straight.

"I must say, I'm surprised. Most people are begging to let them tell me what I want to know by now. I've even managed to work up a sweat. Looks like we'll have to try something else." The words sent a whirlwind of panic through him, but he forced his face to remain the same. Every time he had heard that last sentence in his life, it had only been followed by worse pain. Unfortunately for him, this time wasn't an exception. The man turned around with a large pair of rusty, blood stained pliers in his hand. His smile grew wider the closer he came.

"Let's see how much your people really care about you. We're gonna send them...oh, what do you cops call it? Proof of life." The man said. Jay's screams of agony could be heard throughout the room, but no one would hear him through the thick walls.

 **Later**

"Do we have any leads on Jay? Are we any closer to finding him?" Voight asked. Erin was pacing the floor still. He had been missing ever since he had gone for a run early this morning. Erin had wanted to sleep in, and had opted not to go with him. All she could think about was how this was all her fault. She chose sleep over her boyfriend, and now he might be dead because of it.

"Sarge, this just came for you. A young girl dropped it off." Platt walked upstairs with a box inside. She set it down on the desk, and everyone gathered around with curiosity.

"Who gave it to her?" Voight asked.

"She said she didn't know. He payed her, so she did it. She said he was wearing dark sunglasses and a maroon hat." Platt said. Voight thanked her, then slowly opened the lid. Adam quickly turned away as a wave of disgust filled him. Erin followed suit. Voight pulled the cellphone out of the box as it started ringing, and motioned for the techs to try and get a trace to find out where the call was coming from.

"Voight." He said, answering the call.

"Hello sergeant. I believe this means you have received my package. You know, I have to hand it to you. Whatever you've done, you've trained him well. You should be very proud of Jay. Wouldn't talk even after I extracted the little gift for you." A deep, raspy voice said from the other end of the line.

"What do you want?" Voight asked, anger creeping into his voice.

"For Tyler Potts to be released from your custody. You will bring my broth...him, you will bring him to the Southeast Pier tonight at 11:00 on the dot. Once you are there, you will exchange him for your detective. One lone police car. I will be armed, and if you try anything, I will not hesitate to execute your detective." The voice said.

"How do I know that my detective is alive?" Voight asked.

"Trust me." The man said.

"I trust no one. Either you let me talk to him, or no deal." Voight said, standing his ground.

"Fine. Say hello." He said. Voight could hear Jay's ragged breathing through the phone.

"S...Sarge." The voice was weak and crackly.

"Jay. Hang tough, we're gonna get you out of there." Voight said, softening with worry.

"T...tell Erin...I...love..h...er." Jay forced the sentence out between painful breaths.

"I won't need to. Your gonna tell her yourself. We're coming to get you." Voight said, determination now filling him, running alongside the anger.

"You've listed your requirements, now I have one of my own. My detective comes back alive. If he is anything less than that tonight, you will feel the full weight of the CPD crash down on you." Voight said, clenching his fist.

"Is that supposed to scare me Sergeant? To bad you have no idea who I am." The man asked.

"Well, judging by the fact that you stopped yourself before you said brother before you said his name, that'd make you Ryan Potts. You were hoping I wouldn't notice, weren't you?" Voight said.

"Listen, you bring me my brother, or Halstead dies, and you never see me again!" Ryan yelled.

"That's not likely. Anyway, you hold up your end of the deal, I'll hold up mine. But if my detective dies because of you, I don't care what hole you dig yourself, I will hunt you down. And when I find you, the hole I dig for you will be permanent." Voight said, and hung up.

"You really think threatening him was a good idea? How do you know he won't just kill Jay now?!" Erin yelled.

"Because we have something he wants. Ruzek, get Tyler Potts out of the cage. The rest of you, we've got an hour to find out everything we can about this family. I want to know where they like to eat, what movies they go to, what pets they had when they were little. Every last detail. If you've got any people who owe you favors, now is the time to use them. Go!" Voight said, and everyone immediately broke off and busied themselves with finding their brother in blue.

 **Meanwhile...**

Jay tried to blink away the blood that was running into his eye from the cut on his left eyebrow. He looked down at his bloody skin where his fingernails once were, trying to push the pain away by strength of mind. Instead on focusing on the pain, he started to plan how he would get out of there. Sure, he knew his team was coming for him, and that they would find him, but he still figured he should do his part in any way he could.

"Since you won't tell me what you cops think you have on my brother, I've been forced to make a deal with the devil. You for him. Let's just hope your not dead before then." Ryan said, the evil smile slowly returning to his face.

"I think your the one who needs to be worried. The last guy that came after Voight's family? Well, they never found his body." Jay said, as if the words gave him his strength back. Ryan looked at him but said nothing, but Jay noticed a small glimpse of fear in his eyes. Then, Ryan turned and suddenly left the room.

 **Later**

"I have eyes on the suspects vehicle. The gray van up ahead." Adam said through the earpiece.

"Everyone keep back. We move in when we have Jay." Voight said to his plainclothes detectives. He and Erin were the lone officers that the man had required. Worry was mixed with anger as Erin stepped out of the car, and pulled the man out of the car behind him. Her anger was intensified as the tall, heavy built man stepped out of the other car, walking towards them.

"Tyler. It's fine, I'm getting you out of here." Ryan said, looking at his brother.

"We had a deal. Where's my Halstead?" Erin said, her anger growing to rage as she tightened her grip on the young man's arm, with the other on her gun.

"Yea yea whatever. He's in the van. You can have the whole car, just give me my brother!" Ryan yelled, opening the car door to reveal a battered Jay laying on the floor.

"Jay! Can you hear me?" Erin yelled, as planned.

"Y...Yea..." Jay said, the effort of speaking making his entire body shake.

"Alright, he's alive. Come get your brother." Voight said. Ryan took a few quick steps forward, and Voight gave the signal as soon as he was far enough away from the vehicle. Adam whipped his gun out from under his belt, and sprinted up behind the suspect.

"Get on your knees! Get down!" Adam yelled as Ryan spun around. Two shots rang out, and Ryan dropped to the ground. Erin shoved his brother back in the car, and sprinted towards Jay. Kevin was right behind her, while Adam kicked the gun away from the dead captor.

"Jay! Can you you hear me?! Look at me!" Erin said, climbing into the van next to him, and pulling his head close.

"H...hey.." Jay said, trying to force a smile.

"We need an ambulance Sarge!" Erin yelled out of the door.

"Uh...I don't think he has that much time." Kevin said with fear. He carefully picked up one of Jay's wrists and showed it to Erin before quickly bandaging them. Both wrists had a deep, jagged cut inches below the palm.

"Sarge, he's gonna bleed out before an ambulance gets here." Kevin said.

"Then what are you waiting for? Get him out of here! Adam and Olinsky, get them a police escort! Go!" Voight said. Erin squeezed Jay's writs to try to stop the bleeding, and Kevin jumped in the drivers seat. The three car procession sped off, tires squealing.

"30 years old male, deep lacerations to the wrists, multiple fractured ribs and facial bones, possible ruptured spleen, punctured liver." Will looked at his computer, not glancing up when the bay doors opened. He had to finish entering this information first. Then he caught a glimpse of Erin out of the corner of his eye, and his attention was immediately drawn to the patient being taken into trauma three behind Dr. Manning.

"Are you ok? Your covered in blood! What happened?" Will asked, rushing over to Erin.

"It's...it's not mine. Jay...he got kidnapped... he's...it's bad." Erin said chocking on her tears. Will turned in shock to see the amount of blood coming from his brothers body. As much as he wanted to stay with Erin, he handed her off to a nurse who guided her away, then rushed in to save his brother.

 **Later**

Jay let out a frustrated sigh as he dropped the fork onto the hospitals dinner tray again.

"Here, let me help you." Erin said, walking over.

"No! I'm fine. I got it!" Jay said.

"Jay. Your wrists are still weak, and they probably still hurt. You shouldn't even be moving them!" Erin said, picking up the fork.

"Their fine. I'm not an invalid, I can feed myself!" Jay said, getting more frustrated when he dropped it again.

"Ok one: their not _fine_ , you lost half the blood in your body from them! And two: I know full well what your capable of. You proved it to everyone once again considering what you survived in the past two days. And three: If you think I'm being pushy, it's because I watched you nearly bleed to death." Erin said, even when he turned his head down.

"I know...sorry. It's just...I hate not being able to do things for myself. It's not you." Jay said.

"Well I think you need to realize that sometimes you have to let people help you wether you like it or not!" Erin said. Jay shook his head in understanding, then gave her a kiss before picking up the fork, and reluctantly letting her help him.


	24. Chapter 24- X is for x-ray

X is for X-Ray

"So Erin really never lets you drive?" Adam asked with a laugh as he walked out next to Jay.

"Well not never. I've driven like four times since we got the truck." Jay said.

"Well I guess we know who wears the pants in that relationship!" Adam said, laughing harder.

"Oh that's just cold bro." Jay shook his head with a small smirk forming. With the seriousness this job brought, and all the horrible things they see in a day, Jay loved that he could always count on Adam to crack a joke or tease one of them to make everyone laugh. The pair were on their way to pick a suspect and hopefully stop a heist that would likely lead to murder. They had gotten intel that the crew they had been chasing the past few days was about to hit a bank on the north side of Chicago. They had been split from their partners because Erin was questioning a witness at Chicago Med. Jay had tried to stay, but the young girl was traumatized, and Jays large stature and muscular build didn't help, seeing as the crew was all men over 5'9. She would only talk to Erin, and only when Jay wasn't in the room. When the team got the tip, Voight had sent the first tow detectives he saw, which were Jay and Adam. The two hoped into the truck, and Jay drove off.

The pair drove along smoothly, making casual conversation as friends do, and waiting for Voight or someone back at the office to call and give confirmation that the address that were given is correct, and that they should move in and arrest the suspects. They were just about to turn back onto a main road when Adams phone started ringing.

"Hey. Are we good to go?" Adam asked when he picked up his phone, seeing it was Voight.

"Yea. We were able to get a location off the tracker Atwater managed to get on their van the other day. They should be about two streets ahead of you now. It's silver, unmarked." Voight answered. He was looking at the GPS images of the two cars on Kevin's computer in front of them. He listened as Jay switched on the sirens, and watched their car pick up speed.

"Alright Sarge we've got a visual. We're moving in." Adam said, setting the phone on the center console of the truck in case there would be any further instructions. Jay pushed the gas pedal further down, and swerved in and out of the traffic through the honking of horns. The van had now also picked up speed when they saw the lights in their rear view. Voight started to panic slightly when he heard the sound of gunfire through the phone.

"What's going on?!" He yelled to his detectives.

"Suspects are packing pretty heavy heat Sarge! Windshields gone! We need backup!" Jay yelled back, ducking as more bullets flew into the vehicle. Suddenly, Jay heard two loud pops, and steering the truck became more difficult. He gripped it tighter, knowing exactly what the sound was that he heard, and also that it wasn't good.

"Front wheels are gone!" Jay yelled. His panic heightened when he saw they were approaching an intersection, and a busy one at that. He looked over at Adam, who braced himself as Jay slammed his foot down, locking up the breaks in hopes the vehicle would stop. Unfortunately, it did exactly the opposite. The suspects had done this before, and while one gunman had been just randomly spraying bullets into the car, another had perfectly placed a bullet through the brake line that ran to the back tires. When Jay slammed on the front breaks, the front tires stoped, but the speed they had been traveling at was to fast, and the bed of the truck lifted off the ground, sending the two passengers into a fiery crash.

"This is Sergeant Hank Voight requesting all possible units to the intersection of 84th and Green street. I have two 1013s, officer unresponsive!" Voights raspy voice was heard through the radios all across Chicago, causing all those close to drop everything and speed towards the detectives.

 **Minutes later...**

Multiple police cruisers rolled up to the intersection and gasped at the scene in front of them. The truck that was carrying the two intelligence detectives was badly mangled and sitting on its roof. Officers raced over, checking the men for a pulse. Paramedics rolled up minutes later, and went to work on them. Both were soon pulled carefully from the twisted metal, and rushed to the hospital.

"Hello detective. You were in an accident, and are on your way to the hospital. Hey! Uh uh, I need you to lay still." Jay blinked his eyes against the light blaring above his eyes. He slowly registered everything as he listened to the paramedics words. Despite the woman's protests, Jay reached a shaky hand up and pulled the oxygen mask off his face.

"A...Ada...Adam?" Jay croaked out, trying to swallow away the sandpaper dryness in his throat.

"He's in the ambulance right behind us. He's alive. Jay, I need you to keep the mask on." The paramedic said, replacing it over his nose. Jay blinked again, and the face of the woman working on him came into clearer view. Relief settled into him when he finally recognized the face.

"She's been alerted. She'll be waiting for you at med." the woman said, knowing exactly what his question just from the look on Jay's face. He smiled as she watched him relax. Her smile was quickly replaced with concern as Jay reached up and grabbed his chest with a raspy groan of pain after the ambulance hit a large speed bump.

"Dawson?! You alright back there?!" Jay heard another familiar voice yell from up front. He gripped his chest tightly as a red hot pain exploded in the middle of his chest. The black spots in his vision grew larger and larger until they finally filled his eyes entirely.

"Dammit! Yea I'm fine, but he's not! The bump might've just...killed him." Gabby said with panic as she jumped up and began to work as fast as she could to save her friend.

 **Later**

Erin sat curled into the waiting room chair, nervously picking at the skin around her fingernails as she had been doing for the past two hours. She had barley looked up at the rest of her team that was gathered around her. They were all here, except the two that were still in surgery and had been for the past two hours since they had been rushed in. Erin had just been walking out of the exam room where the little girl was when she saw two of the best men she's ever know rushed through the doors. From what she heard, they were both within an inch of their lives, Adam with a bag keeping his lungs working, and Jay with his chest already cracked open from an emergency in the ambulance. She had desperately run to her boyfriends side, stopped quickly by a large pair of strong hands covered in hospital gloves. She heard him talking to her, but didn't listen. She refused to pay attention to anything but lifeless figure of the only man she's ever truly felt was her soulmate. Before she could get any closer to him, Hank had came and pulled her away. She had caught a quick glimpse of red hair as he was guided into the waiting area. _Will...it was Will! He must know something! I need to find Will!_ She thought to herself. She started to stand up to go look for him, but was soon distracted by the sight of the surgeon coming towards them.

"Well, we got there just in time. They are both very lucky to be alive. Jay's seatbelt saved him from having a lot of further damage. However, because of the force of which the seatbelt was shoved into his chest, his sternum was cracked, and the small bone at the end of the sternum, the xiphoid process broke off, and was sent into his liver. We were able to retrieve it, but it tore apart his liver pretty badly. It has been repaired, but there were further complications with his breathing during his surgery from gas fumes that leaked into the cab. He will be on a ventilator until his lungs are clear and he breath without the chemicals leaking in again. Other than this, there are a few minor injuries, but nothing else serious. As for Adam, he suffered severe whiplash, and broke his t3 vertebrae. We had to operate on a nerve that was pinched between the vertebras. Luckily though, there was no damage to his spinal cord, so while he may experience some numbness in the next couple weeks, there is no fear of paralysis. We have immobilized his neck to prevent any further nerve damage, and it will stay that way for quite a while. He also has a major concussion from the whiplash, so he will be extremely sensitive to light, and will likely have a some vertigo for a while during his recovery, and likely a few cases in the future. He will require some therapy to restore full function and strengthen his neck muscles, but along with a few minor injures, we expect them to both make a full recovery." Dr. Rhodes explained the situation of the two detectives.

"Was Adam effected by the fumes?" Al asked curiously, eager to see his partner.

"Yes, but not as much as Jay. He's on oxygen, but it's only a mask." Connor answered.

"Can we see them?" Erin asked eagerly.

"Not immediately. Their both being transferred to the ICU right now, so it'll take a few minutes to get them both settled. Once their ready for visitors I'll come get you. Just as a heads up, even when they are ready for visitors, they will still be sedated so their bodies can recover. I suggest you go home, get some rest and come back in a few hours." Connor said.

"Thank you." Voight replied, shaking Connors hand before leading a reluctant Erin out.

 **Later**

Erin once again found herself sitting bedside, hoping to see those gorgeous blue eyes open up and look at her. Instead she was left to count the lines in the pattern of the hospital blanket he was wrapped in, and listen to the ventilator as the machine breathed for him. It had now been a day and a half since the accident, and neither of her friends seemed to be any better, despite what Will kept telling her. She looked at her watch, which read 2:00pm. That meant Will would soon be in to check his breathing. Adam was in the room just next door. Erin had been in there moments ago, and his condition wasn't much different.

"Knock knock." Erin turned towards the familiar voice of Will, and smiled at him.

"How is he?" He asked, looking at the motionless form of his little brother. He couldn't express how just how much he longed to hear the complaints of being in a hospital, even though he knew he would likely soon take that wish right back.

"About the same. His colors improved though." Erin said.

"That's a great sign. I'm gonna check his lungs again, and we'll take another x-ray to make sure everything's doing ok in there, and if we're all clear, we'll take him off the ventilator." Will said. The words were like music to Erin's ears. She nodded, and moved back so Will and the nurses could go to work. A small smile crossed Will's face as the sound hit his ears through the stethoscope. He gave Erin a smile, and happily rolled the x-ray machine in watching as she almost instantaneously perked up. Will looked at the screen as the picture appeared.

"Everything looks good. He can come off!" Will said triumphantly. Erin's smile grew, and she sent out a happy group text to let everyone else know the good news. Minutes later, Will secured a nasal canal under Jays nose. He checked the rest of his vitals, then set up an oxygen tank by his bedside.

"This is here just in case. He hopefully won't need it, and the one in his nose will be enough, but if he seems to be labored or having any trouble breathing, put this on, and come get me right away." Will said. Erin nodded her response. After a few more minutes of talking and happily looking at Jay, they decided to go next door and check on Adam.

They were just walking into the room when Al came up and joined them. He expressed how glad he was that Jay was finally doing better, and the group slowly walked in to see their other friend. Will slid the door open, earning a groan from his patient. Most people would be alarmed, but instead, he let out a sigh of relief. That meant Adam was awake.

"Welcome back. How're you feeling?" Al asked, the first one over to him.

"My...head..." Adam said, reaching a hand up to his forehead.

"You've got a pretty bad concussion. Easy there, don't try to move your neck. You broke a vertebrae, so you need to keep it still. Don't worry, your not paralyzed. You got lucky. You both did." Al said, carefully moving Adams hand back to his side.

"How's...Jay?" Adam asked, his words slurring slightly. Will had assured them that this was nothing to be worried about, just a product of the concussion.

"He's gonna be ok also. He was on a ventilator for a while, but we actually just took him off a few minutes ago. He should be waking up within an hour or so." Will said, happiness flowing through him. This was why he chose this job. Sure it was hard, and there were days where it took everything out of him. But it was days like today when he remembered why he loved it. Seeing his patients come full circle from being on edge of death, to knowing they would make a full recovery was exactly what kept him going. Will was pulled from his thoughts when a nurse slowly opened the door.

"Erin?" She asked, looking for who would respond. Erin turned around.

"That's me. What's up?" Erin asked.

"The patient next door, he's asking for you." The nurse said.

"Wait, what? He _asking_ for me?" She said with surprise.

"Yea. He woke up about a minute ago when I went in to change his fluids." She said. Will laughed as Erin nearly knocked the poor nurse over as she ran out of the room so fast.

Erin pulled the next door open, and her heart nearly jumped out her chest with pure joy when she saw exactly what she was wishing for earlier. Those sparkling blue eyes were finally looking directly at her again. She practically ran to his bedside, and carefully picked up his hand.

"Hey babe." Jay said in a raspy voice, as his throat was still dry from the tube. She held a cup of water to him, and he gratefully took a long drink. He gave her a smile that could make anyone melt as she pulled a chair over and stain sat down next to him.

"How's Adam?" He asked.

"Awake and asking the same about you." She said. She then explained both their injuries, and then how glad she was that they were ok.

"So I guess this means your surely not gonna ever let me drive again, huh?" Jay asked with a smirk.

"I'll have to think about that one." Erin said with a playful smile of her own. They sat talking and watching tv for the next hour until the rest of the team showed up and all talked about how happy they were that both men were out of the woods, Kevin going as far as even teasing Jay a bit about his driving.


	25. Chapter 25- Y is for You

Y is for You

Jay pulled into his parking spot behind the precinct and shit the car off. He grabbed the pizza boxes and made his way back up to the intelligence floor. It was a late night, and the team was stuck here investing a double homicide. It seemed as though they had been running all over Chicago today, and since they certainly wouldn't be going home anytime soon, Jay had been tasked with getting the team dinner. He rolled his eyes at the rush towards him as he walked up the stairs. He set the boxes down as everyone dug in. They continued going over the case while they ate, feeling the pressure to make an arrest.

"Alright now I know we've got the states attorneys office breathing down our necks on this one, but it really is crucial that we get this done." Voight said, strolling over to the case board.

"Yea how bout that? We should tell Antonio to have his boss back off a bit!" Adam grumbled from his desk.

"I tried that. He sends his apologies and said he would try, but we should try to see this from Stone's eyes. He put this guy away, convinced that this guy is a murderer only to find out the evidence he used to convict him was planted, and then as soon as the guy gets out, two more murders happen, and all the evidence points to the suspect." Voight said.

"Well then let's just go arrest him. What are we still doing here?" Jay said, slightly annoyed by the case. It seemed pretty black and white to him, and yet here they still were.

"Come on Jay, you know we can't do that. This case has to be airtight! We can't move until we get those fingerprints back. Once we confirm they're a match to Lantz, we go scoop him up. Until then, we're here making sure the rest of the case is solid." Voight said. Jay sighed, and pushed himself back to his computer to do just that.

Three hours later...

"Thank god! Good news guys! Prints are in! Their a five point match to Sam Lantz." Kim said, looking up from her computer.

"Well it's about damn time!" Adam said, jumping up along with the rest of them. The suited up, and Voight gave them all his orders before they hopped in their cars and headed towards the address. They were hoping that the element of surprise from the 10:30pm darkness would be on their side as they headed down the road.

The line of intelligence vehicles rolled down the road. Jay was jolted awake by as the truck hit a speed bump, sending him flying out of his seat.

"What the heck?!" He asked with surprise, looking over at Erin.

"Sorry! Maybe if you'd wear your seatbelt, this wouldn't be an issue!" Erin said.

"Or maybe if you'd just let me drive. I always wear it then." Jay said.

"Oh really? Looks like I'm gonna have to start keeping track of all the times I've seen you in this very truck without a seatbelt in the past month." Erin said.

"Go for it!" Jay snapped. She scowled at him as they pulled up to the address alongside everyone else. The argument was quickly forgotten, as this wasn't the first time it had happened. They waited for Voights orders, then filed into the house from each exit.

"Sam Lantz! Chicago PD open up!" Jay yelled, pounding a fist against the door. When there was no reply, he signaled to Kevin, who swung the door ram. The door flew open, and the three agents ran in, guns at the ready with the flashlights on. They were making their way in and out of the rooms, with Jay, Erin, and Kevin clearing the upstairs while Voight, Al, Adam and Kim took the downstairs. They head clears almost all of them, and Kevin ducked into another one. Suddenly, Jay had an eerie feeling that something wasn't right. He turned around, and quickly pulled his hand tighter around his gun when he saw the suspect holding a gun to Erin's temple. Red hot rage flooded through him as he looked at the man.

"Drop the weapon!" He yelled. The man squeezed his grip on Erin, not moving the gun.

"I ain't going back to jail man!" Sam yelled. His small stature had started to shake. Jay could tell that this wasn't his plan, but he also knew that he had nothing to loose, and wasn't going to go without a fight.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Your out numbered and outgunned. Put down your weapon!" Kevin yelled. Kevin had joined them soon after Jay, and now walked slightly over from Jay, aiming his gun at the man's head. Sam saw the amount of guns pointed at him, and started backing up. He tried to back his way out of the room, was distracted by the sound of more sirens outside. Erin saw her opportunity, and threw a sharp elbow into the man's stomach as hard as she could. He grunted, and stumbled back a few steps. Erin went to reach for her gun, but realized the man had kicked it away when he surprised her in the darkness. The man now angrily raised his weapon once again. Jay heard the suspects gun go off, and his body reacted before he even had time to think. He dove in front of Erin, pushing her out of the way as multiple shots rang through the air.

"What the hell happened?!" Voight asked, racing up the stairs. Shock filled his face as he took in the scene in front of him. The man was dead, and Two of his other detectives were on the ground. Then he saw the blood, but to his alarm, it wasn't from Sam. It was from...

"Jay! Oh my god Jay! Can you hear me?! He's been hit!" Erin frantically screaming as she kneeled next to her partner. Panic filled them all as Voight quickly called for a bus after shining the light on his detective. The blood was seeping out of a bullet wound on the side of Jay's face.

 _To be continued..._


	26. Chapter 26- Z is for Zygomatic bone

Z is for Zygomatic bone

Jay's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to rap his mind around what had just happened. It felt as if someone was stabbing a glowing hot sword into the side of his face. Then he remembered the whirlwind of events that had taken place in what seemed like the last eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes. He remembered his reaction, and his split second decision to shove Erin out of the way. Erin! Just the thought of her seemed to snap him out of the comatose state that he had fallen into. He forced his heavy eyelids open.

"That's it Jay! Let me see those eyes. Come on, wake up." Erin said, watching as Jay's eyes rolled open. The tears that rolled down her cheeks threatened to come faster as she was filled with a mixture of joy that he was still breathing, and fear that he would stop on an instant.

"This is Sergeant Voight! Where's my damn ambulance?!" Voight yelled into his radio. Jay tried to push himself up off the cold, hard wooden floor, but Adam held him down.

"Hey! No. Stay still! You were shot. I need you to hold still." He said.

"Wh...where? E...Erin..." The amount of work it took to get the words out angered him.

"Yes. I'm here babe, I'm here. I'm ok. Don't worry about me, ok. Right now you just need to focus on staying awake. Keep looking at me." Erin said, squeezing his hand. Any movement of his face made the throbbing worse, so he squeezed her hand in response. He hated seeing her cry, and wanted so badly to reach up and wipe the tears away, but the fatigue was creeping in once again. He knew he had to fight it, but it was just so hard.

"I...di...did it...for...y...you. I...lo...love you..." Jay said, forcing his eyes open again as they got heavier and heavier. The tears now came faster than ever when she heard his words, and how he struggled so hard on every one, except the two most important. Love you. She watched his eyes slip closed as he finally gave in to the darkness. The sobs that shook her entire body were slowed only when he layer her head against his chest, and heard the lub-dub of a heart beat.

 **Later...**

Antonio would've jumped out of the car before it even stopped moving if it hadn't been for the fact that he was driving. He had gotten the call from Voight while at the office about 30 minutes ago, and after informing his team of the state that their suspect was in, he had made what would normally be a 25 minute drive a 15 minute one with the lights on.

"Erin! I'm so sorry!" He said as he rushed towards his formar team member and family. She put a shaky hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle the sounds of her crying. He immediately pulled her into a hug. She melted into warmth of his large, muscular frame. He squeezed her tighter, wishing he could comfort her more. He knew how much she cared about Jay, and also how hard it was to see your partner take a bullet that was meant for you.

"I got here as fast as I could. How is he?" Antonio asked as Erin pulled away and sat back down.

"One bullet in the vest, one in the side of his face. Will said it was surprising that his vitals were even as strong as they were, and they were pretty weak when we got here. He's in surgery." Hank answered, as the rest of the team sat solemnly staring at the floor.

"My god I totally forgot what hospital we were at! Will must be a reck." Antonio shook his head, remembering the panic he had felt the day he got the call from Casey that Gabby was being rushed to the hospital. This felt about the same, as Jay was like a brother to him.

"Yea he took it pretty hard. For about a minute before he snapped out of it, and basically saved his brothers life once again." Hank said, reflecting on the events of the past few hours. Antonio shook his head, and after greeting the rest of them, he sat down. Now came the part that everyone hated most. More than the ride over, more than the panic of the moment, even more than the recovery after the fact. They hated the waiting.

 **Later...**

Peter pulled the keys out of the ignition, and moved the car mirror down to look at his reflection. He loosened his tie slightly, as it felt like it would almost choking him. He took a deep breath, and tried to sort out the thoughts spinning through his mind. He was conflicted with a feeling of disappointment and a small bit of anger about the way case went and the fact that his main suspect was dead, but at the same time was worrying about the detective that was currently on the operating table. He didn't know Jay that well, but he knew how much Antonio cared about him, and so he came for an update on both of them.

Antonio stood up as Stone came into the waiting room. Voight gave him a nod, but stayed put, as his current function was a pillow for Erin, who's crying and worry had finally exhausted her to the point of sleep. Antonio and Stone walked off a ways away from the group to talk, as not to disturb them, as most of them had followed the trend Erin had set. The clock had just hit 2:30am, and even though everyone was beyond worn out, but they refused to leave. The doctors had tried to get them to go home, but to no avail, so Will had instead moved them to a smaller area upstairs where they couches were less beaten down and they could stretch out more.

"How's Halstead?" Stone asked.

"Still in surgery. He's been in there for about two hours now." Antonio sighed and rubbed his forehead. Part of him couldn't understand why it was taking so long, and the other part could completely understand. None of them knew how much damage the bullet had done.

"What happened?" Peter asked, searching desperately for some answer as to how the situation had gone so bad, so fast.

"The team was clearing the building. Erin, Jay, and Kevin were upstairs while the rest of them were downstairs. Lantz ambushed Erin from behind, held a gun to her head. Jay realized first, they ordered him to drop the weapon. He refused, Erin fought back. She threw and elbow, throwing him off balance, giving her enough time to get away. The guy recovered, fired three shots at them, and Jay dove in front of Erin, pushing her out of the way. Two bullets were fired, hitting Jay in the vest, and one in the side of his face. Kevin returned fire, killing Lantz with a single shot to the chest." Antonio explained the details he had gotten from Hank about an hour ago. Peter shook his head.

"Well, I wish it wouldn't have gone this way, but I don't think there'll be any tears shed over Lantz. I always knew the man was a cold hearted murderer. Give the team by best, and the same to Jay when he wakes up." Peter said, squeezing Antonio's shoulder. Antonio nodded, and walked back to join the group. He soon also fell asleep.

 **Later...**

Will paced back and forth nervously outside the surgery room. He had taken a break from his ER rounds and came up here, convincing himself it was a good idea, but now he wasn't so sure. Should he walk into that room? Would he be able to handle what he saw?

"You do that to much longer and you'll wear a hole in the floor." Mrs. Goodwin said, trying to lighten the mood. She had no idea what to say to her doctor. The fear and pain he was feeling right now, well, there's just not much you can do other than be there for them.

"Have you been in there? How is he?" Sharon asked when she got only a small nod.

"Uh...he...Connor said their closing him up. He should be out in about 10 minutes. I didn't...I couldn't go in there... god...I can't get that image out of my head." Will said, leaning against the wall. Sharon walked to join him, her heart hurting for the man she had grown to love like a son. All her doctors were family, and when their family came in, it hurt her just as much.

"I told you he'd pull through. He's a soldier. And soldiers are hard to kill. Especially that one." Sharon said. Will nodded, and took a deep breath. The two jumped as Connor walked out of the operating room, and pulled his gloves off. Wills heart jumped when he saw the look of relief wash over his friends face, although it didn't hide the tired look in his eyes.

"It was a hard surgery. The bullet entered into the outer part of his left zygomatic process. The bone is shattered, but luckily it stopped right before the eardrum. However, he will need at least three false teeth put in, as the bullet shattered the roots of them. He'll have two more reconstructive surgeries in the next four to five weeks to see that the damage isn't to noticeable, and also to make sure the bone is healing nicely. But as of now, it seems like he's out of the woods." Connor told his colleagues.

"When can I see him?" Will asked eagerly.

"Now, actually. You can help the nurses move him to the ICU while I go talk to the rest of them." Connor said. Will nodded, than walked into the room and pulled gloves on.

Will drew in a deep breath at the sight that greeted him when he opened the door. Jay was being hooked up to multiple different bags of fluids and other machines. He had a breathing tube strapped around his nose. Will studied the bandages that had been wrapped around his brothers face to keep the wound clean. There was a large white gauze patch covering most of the left side of Jay's face, starting at the hairline on his left temple and stretching all the way to the bridge of his nose, down to his jaw line. His eyes were uncovered, making Will wish more than anything that he would see them soon. He grabbed a cloth to wipe the dried blood away from the congers of Jay's mouth and eyes, then finally helped them move him to the new ICU bed where he would be staying for the next couple days.

 **Weeks later...**

Erin blinked her eyes open at the beams of sun coming through the apartment window. She stretched and let out a small yawn, before rolling over to study the man next to her. She smiled when she saw he was still dozing, and nuzzled herself into his side. She put her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth radiate off of his skin. He smelled like a mixture of things. His body wash, his favorite beer, their laundry detergent, but most of all he just smelled like...well, Jay! She traced her fingers along the bare skin of his chest, marveling once more at the muscles that lay beneath her hands. Then she moved her eyes up, looking at the line of blue surgical stitches that ran along a small section of his cheekbone. He was supposed to still have a bandage covering it, but in true Jay fashion, he refused, and she didn't feel like fighting him. After bugging him for days on end, Jay had convinced Will to have his last reconstructive surgery moved up so that he could get back to work sooner. And of course, being the amazing big brother that Will was, he had pulled some strings, and managed to make it happen. After about a month of surgeries and recovery, Jay had been cleared to return to duty the night before. Erin decided to relish these few minutes that she got to watch him sleep, as they would likely soon be over. Her smile grew as she noticed how peaceful he looked this morning. She knew he didn't always sleep like this, so this was rare and precious. Then her smile grew once again even when she thought it couldn't possibly get any bigger as she felt a strong arm stretch, then pull her in closer, and she tilted her head up to gaze into his dazzling blue-green eyes.

"Morning." He said with a sleepy smile. She kissed his jaw line-as that was as high as she could reach-in response.

After lying there together a while longer, the pair got out of bed and Erin ambled into the kitchen to start breakfast for the two of them while Jay used the bathroom. He washed his face, careful of the stitches. Even though he knew that it was what they're supposed to do, he was still slightly startled when two of the stitches fell into the sink. He checked for blood, but instead saw the scar that had already started to form. He dried his face off, and walked into the kitchen.

"So you really think your ready for today?" Erin asked as he sat down on a stool at the kitchen island. She handed him a plate of eggs and sausage before picking up her own.

"Of course. Let's run through the list here... No it doesn't hurt anymore, yes I'll say something if it starts to, yes I'll take my medication, and yes I'll be careful. Did I get everything this time?" Jay said with a sarcastic smirk. Erin gave him her best I'm-serious-Jay look before giving in and laughing. They had had this discussion multiple times before. So many in fact, that Jay had made up a checklist of the questions she asks him every time. He had almost made a game out of it.

"Look, babe, we've talked about this! Me getting shot wasn't in any way your fault! I assessed the situation, made my own decision, and what happened happened. I did it because I don't know what'd I'd be without you. I did it out of love. End of story." Jay said, looking her directly in the eye.

"I know, I know! I just...I guess I'm just still reeling from it all. I would probably be dead if it wasn't for you." Erin said with a sigh, meeting his gaze.

"Well, it's like we always say. That's why you have backup." Jay replied.

 **Well guys, there it is! The very last chapter! I'm still shocked that I actually did it! Thank you all so so much for all the amazing feedback, reviews, and help when I didn't have any ideas for a letter! I honestly couldn't have done it without all you guys! This was so much fun for me, and don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from! I've already got tons more ideas for more fanfiction in the Chicago franchise, and multiple other fandoms also! This is just the beginning! Thanks again?**


	27. Chapter 27- What happened After

**Hey guys! So I was rereading some of the chapters from the A-Z of Jay, and I decided to continue some of the storylines. He's the first, from chapter three C is for Cut. Enjoy, leave a review!**

 **/**

Jay walked towards his desk trying to ignore the questioning looks from his fellow detectives, especially the one coming from Erin. He threw his jacket over the back of the chair, not knowing that she had caught the barely noticeable grimace that had slipped out when he took his jacket.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yea." Jay said, smiling at her.

"Ya know, you're usually a good liar, but I see right through it. Where'd you go, anyway?" Erin asked. He started to formulate a lie, but then he remembered his promise to Will, and he could tell by the look in her eyes that she already knew something had happened. He sighed, then was out with it.

"I made a quick pit stop at Will's place for some uh...express medical care." Jay said with his best air of nonchalance.

"How bad was it? Come on Jay, I'm your partner, and a partner's job is to watch your back at all times. Did you really think I didn't see the guy grab the blade?" Erin said, raising an eyebrow. The conversation now had everyone's attention. He knew she wouldn't leave him alone until she was sure it wasn't serious.

"Fine. Here. He was a plastic surgeon, remember?" Jay said, pulling up the corner of his shirt just enough to show the clean row of stitches across his right side, just up from his belt line. Erin inspected it thoroughly for a minute or so until she was pleased, then nodded and sat back down.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Erin asked.

"I told Voight. And besides, eight stitches is no big deal. I didn't want to worry anyone." Jay explained, hoping she would understand.

"While I'm not condoning his actions, we have seen worse with him. That's what we have Will for anyway, isn't it?" Ruzek said with a smirk. Jay laughed as Erin rolled her eyes, and looked back at her work.

 **The next day…**

Will looked up from the news article on his phone as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up to see Jay jogging towards him. The brothers were meeting for breakfast on the warm spring morning. Jay was just finishing up his morning run.

"Morning!" Jay said, pulling out his headphones, and checking his heart rate on his Apple watch. He sat down, then gave his brother a confused look when he didn't return the greeting. He followed Will's gaze down to his side, and groaned in frustration when he saw a fresh blood stain.

"I literally just bought this shirt!" Jay said in an annoyed voice.

"You couldn't help yourself. You just had to go and mess up by handiwork." Will joked, shaking his head.

"This is like the 20th shirt I've ruined at work!" Jay said with a frown, lifting it up to inspect the damage to the material while Will did the same to the cut. There was two missing sutures, as he had expected.

"Well then may be you should change your occupation!" Will said with a smirk, earning a crooked look and a huff from his brother.


	28. Chapter 28: What happened after

**D is for Defenestration**

Gabby looked up as the bell rang on the top of the door to Molly's. She smiled as the CPD crew walked in and took their seats around the bar. She said her usual greetings to them, and started making drinks, but stopped with a confused and concerned look when she saw Jay. His shoulder was covered in a fresh, large white bandage, accompanied by a sling, a butterfly

"What happened to you? Were you the call for the 1013 the other day?" she asked.

"Yea, that was me. Suspect decided to blindside me and take us both out the second story window." Jay answered.

"Huh, I know how that feels, and it ain't good! I'm guessing by the sling you weren't as lucky ask was though." Severide said as he joined them at the bar.

"Yea, well you also had a bit more protective gear than I did. Nothing too bad, I got off fairly easy myself." Jay said.

"Well, that's if you count easy as a fractured shoulder blade and the worst concussion you can get." Jay turned towards the familiar voice of his girlfriend walking up to join them. The crew sat and talked a while longer while other friends continued to flow through the doors and join the crowd.

Jay had explained his situation multiple times to just about everyone who came in and join them. He had finished his meal and was chatting casually with Kelly when he picked up the beer sitting next to him.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" Will said, giving him a skeptical look.

"Enjoying my time at Molly's….?" Jay answered with a confused look.

"Oh really? Did you forget about your concussion?" Will said.

"Uh who gave you that? From what I've heard your brain is bad enough as is and you wanna make it worse?! Uh uh, not in my bar!" Gabby joined the conversation when she saw what was happening.

"It can't affect it _that_ much, can it? I mean come on, it's been a long week!" Jay said. He looked at each of the medics he's was in between, and saw the looks he was getting. He sighed, and sat the bottle back down on the counter, shooting Severide a "help me out here" look, to which he raised his hands.

"Don't look at me, I've learned not to argue with a Dawson. Family is different, but Gabby? No thank you." Kelly said with a smirk, earning a laugh from everyone around him. Jay soon joined in, and then was sucked into the hockey game up on the screen.

/

 **Hey guys, me again! Sorry for the shortness of the chapters. Some of the follow-up chapters don't have as much to follow with, but I promise others will have more. I'm still deciding which ones I'm going to continue or if I'll do them all, so if you have any requests for a chapter, let me know!**


	29. Chapter 29- What happened After chap 2

B is for Bomb

"Sir, you have to stay in your room! No! Sir, you can't take that out! Sir, you have to keep that in your nose! Stop!" Will was walking down the hall when he heard the commotion coming from Jay's room. He rubbed his forehead and sighed as he got closer to the entrance, considering not even going in and letting someone else deal with his thick headed brother.

"Jay, for the sake of my sanity, please listen to her." Will said, giving his brother a look.

"Will, I'm _fine._ All I want to do is talk to Adam and the rest of them! They put everyone else on desk duty and left us here! There's nothing to do and I sick of sitting around!" Jay said with frustration.

"For the love of god Jay! Your lung collapsed! Last time I checked that was a lot more serious than a broken bone! Not to mention the broken ribs or the fact that you can't even lift your arms above your head without pain. You're not leaving until you're cleared, and I don't want to hear another word about it! It's been a long day, and the **last** thing I need right now is more complaints from the nurses about you not cooperating! We're here to fix you, and it's high time you stopped being so damn stubborn!" Will said, his voice raising slightly. He hated yelling at his brother, but he had _had it_ with his attitude. It finally seemed like Jay had gotten the message as he let out a huff and let the nurse change his IV. After she was done, Will checked his lung sounds and other vitals. Jay watched as his brothers brow scrunched, and he moved the stethoscope back to the side of his chest, just below his armpit. Then he moved the hospital gown out of the way and listened a third time.

"Get the x-rays machine in here! Do you have any pain in your side?" Will asked, looking at Jay's charts.

"Uh...yea, but I mean I figured it was just still sore from the surgery… why?" Jay asked. Will didn't answer right away, but instead took the x-ray, and studied it.

"Just what I thought! You should've told me immediately when you felt pain! Call Dr. Rhodes and have him prep an OR, tell him we'll be up in five." Will said, and started rushing around, getting everything ready, and going so fast that Jay's head was starting to spin.

"Can someone please tell me what the heck is going on?!" Jay asked.

"There was a bomb fragment that was stuck in your pectoral muscle, and now it happened to make its way further through, and it's pushing on your lung. If it goes any farther, it'll puncture it. That could be disastrous for an already weak lung. You need surgery right now. This is gonna put you to sleep, and when you wake up, hopefully everything will be fixed." Will explained while pushing a anesthetic into Jay's new IV and putting an oxygen mask over his face. He squeezed his brother's hand, trying to comfort him. Everything was happening so fast. Just a few minutes ago, all he wanted to do was see how his friend was doing, and now he might be worse off.

They turned the corner and were about to board the elevator when Jay caught a blurry glimpse of someone running towards them. He hated voices, but couldn't quite make out the words as the anesthesia was doing it's job. He felt a warm, soft hand grab his, and as the short cut dirty blonde hair came into view, he suddenly knew exactly who was standing next to him.

"H….hey. I'm go...nna b….bb..e f...fine." He said pulling the mask away with a weak hand. She smiled back at him and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Of course you will." Erin said. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was her beautiful loving smile.

 **Later…**

Adam looked up from the tv in his room towards the knock on the door of his hospital room. He smiled and motioned for Al to join him. He turned the volume down and set the remote down as his partner sat down.

"Good to see your awake this time." Al said.

"Yea, well they got me on some pretty heavy stuff, so I only feel it when if I try to move. And look at you, gettin so lucky. Managed to not break your shootin' hand! How'd everyone else doing?" Adam said.

"Kevin's still getting used to the crutches. It's kinda funny sometimes. Erin's pacing waiting for everyone to get back and Jay….. well, you know how he is. Had to make it difficult. He's actually should be getting out of surgery any minute now." Olinsky said, looking at the watch on his good wrist.

"Surgery? Didn't he already have one?" Adam asked.

"He had the first one at the same time you did when we all came in here two days ago, and then they took him in again a few hours ago when Will found a bomb fragment pressing into the lung they had just repaired, so they had to go back in and fix it. I just walked to Erin, and she said their closing him up now, and that it went fine. Good thing Will caught it when he did." Olinsky said.

"Yea. Two times in one week is way too many times to almost die. Even for him." Adam said with a smirk, although he was genuinely glad his friend would be ok. He knew Intelligence would never be the same without him.

 **Days later…**

"Well would ya look at that! You two finally decided to stop being so lazy and come back to work!" Kevin joked as the rest of the team watched Adam and Jay make their way up the stairs and towards their desks. They laughed in response to his joke, but also at the glare he was getting from Erin, who obviously still thought Jay needed more time for his body to heal.

"Glad to be back." Jay said.

/

 **Hey guys, me again! Just in case anyone was wondering, I plan on keeping Erin in all of the sequels to the chapters, mainly because she was in all of the original ones and it wouldn't make sense for her not to be, and also bc I'm still in denial that she's actually gone**


	30. Chapter 30- What happened After chapter9

I is for Infection

It was an unusually warm fall evening for Chicago as Jay and Will were walking to the car after an evening at a hockey game. It was Labor Day weekend, and the city was lit up by various parties and lights from nightclubs and bars. The parking lot by the stadium was packed, and they had had to park quite a few blocks away. They had already had their drinks during the game, so they didn't bother to stop at any of the bars, even though they knew the drinks would likely be half price for the holiday.  
Jay had also seen the fliers in store windows earlier in the week advertising a drive-in movie, but hadn't looked long enough to see what it was. He later realized that he should have, because maybe then he could've prevented what was about to happen.

The brothers were just finishing a conversation about work. Of all things topics, they tried to avoid this one the most, partially because this was their only time away from it, but also because they all had a tendency to remember the worst things about their days. Blame it on the drinks or the pressure of the job, but it still always seemed to circle back to the ones they couldn't save.

This time was different though. Will had given Jay an update on a young girl he had saved a few days prior, and had later brought into Med. Jay had been in hot pursuit of a suspect, and they chase had taken them down a back alley, when the man suddenly changed directions, and shoved a girl out of the way. She fell head first down the flight of cement stairs she was standing at the top of, and was knocked our cold on impact. He made the split second decision to help the kid and let Antonio go after the suspect. When he reached her, he immediately called for a bus, only to realize the girl might not have that long, so he cradled her in his arms and sprinted as carefully but as quickly as he could towards the ambulance.  
"You saved her life. Are you sure you were ok?" Will asked.  
"Yea, why?" Jay asked.  
"Ethan said you looked a little...skittish when you brought her in. Did you have another flashback?" Will asked. He watched as Jay processed the question and tried to come up with a believable lie.  
"Breifly, yea. It wasn't that bad... not as bad as those ones usually are anyway." Jay said.  
"Those ones? What do you mean? Why would they be different?" Will asked. Jay was about to answer when their walk took them past the park, where the movie had already started. There was massive speakers, and a large, bright screen playing Dun-kirk. Their timing was impeccable, and the siblings walked past the park just as a war scene was happening. Will had looked towards the movie, forgetting momentarily about his brother. When he looked back, he saw Jay hunched down behind a nearby car, hands clenched as though he was holding a rifle.  
"Jay? You ok? What wrong?" Will asked, confused at first as to what was going on. He soon realized when he saw the sweat running down Jay's temples. He was out of breath and his eyes were darting around frantically.  
"Jay! Hey! Look at me! It's Will. Your in Chicago, your safe, ok?" Will said, grabbing a hold of his brothers shoulders to steady him. About a minute later, Jay finally calmed down. He took a deep breath, and rubbed a shaky hand over His face. He closed his eyes, but quickly opened them again when his mind began to replay the bloody scene once again.  
"You good?" Will asked, offering a hand, then helping Jay up. He nodded, and the pair continued the rest of their walk to the car in silence.

The silence mostly continued on the ride home, breaking when Will pulled up in front of Jay's appartment.  
"Promise me you won't tell Erin about this." Jay said, eyes still staring out the window.  
"What do you mean?" Will asked.  
"She's already worried enough about me. The nightmares are always bad around this time of year, and I've had enough of those without her worrying about me when I'm awake." Jay said.  
"Jay, maybe she has a reason to be worried. If you keep having these episodes, you land yourself in Med again! Maybe it's time you talked to someone about it." Will said.  
"What, like a shrink? No thanks. I've handled them for how many years now? I'll be fine." Jay said, stubbornly.  
"Really? What about that? What, you didn't think I'd notice the rope burn on ur wrist? And you can't tell me it's from work, because it's only on one wrist. Your obviously afraid of hurting someone." Will said, motioning towards the red line on Jay's left wrist where a rash had formed.  
"Will, I'm fine. It's just a precaution." Jay said, then made a move to open the door. Will reached down and pressed the lock button, making it clear he wasn't finished with the conversation. Jay gave him an annoyed look, then settled back in.  
"You know what I think? I think it's because Mouse went back. Your worried about him, and it's reasonable. He's your friend, and when he was working with you, you could watch his back. Now you can't. That's making the dreams worse." Will said. Jay didn't respond, but by the look on his face, he could tell he was right.  
"Fine. Your right. The other night I went back to when I was held hostage. I threw a punch in my dream, and hit Erin so hard you could see the imprint of my knuckles on the side of her arm. After that, I decided it was necessary, at least until the end of the summer. They usually stop after that." Jay said.  
"Look, I know you've been through this stuff all before, but I do know that it can't be easy. I can tell there getting worse, so I'll make you a deal. I won't tell Erin about what happened tonight if you promise to talk to Ethan. He at least knows more of what your going through than I do." Will said. Jay sighed, knowing he had to give in. He could hear the sincerity in is brothers voice, and knew how much he cared.  
"Ok. Alright, fine. I'll do it." Jay said.  
"Good. Now get in there before she gets suspicious!" Will said.  
"Knowing her, she probably already is!" Jay said with a smile. 


	31. Chapter 31: What happened after chap12

What happened after chapter 12

"I got him. Grab his legs!" Kevin said, gently putting his strong arms under the limp body of one of his best friends. Burgess nodded, and they slowly made their way off the roof. There was a red stain where Adam had just been laying, but they couldn't tell where it was coming from. Not that they had time to look, because the maniac that had put Jay in a hospital bed was still looming over them. The only reason they had gotten to Adam was that Voight had now created a very intimidating barrier between them. They pushed their way into the top floor of the hospital, which was the ICU wing. By a stroke of luck, Will and Erin were just walking out of Jay's room when the saw the two other detectives coming towards them. Questions flooded through Erin's mind, but all she could manage was

"What the...?" Before Will jumped into action. He called for a gurney, and once Adam was laid down, he immediately got to work on him even while they were still enroute to a ER room. A nurse carefully pulled the vest off and cut away his shirt. As he was rolled into a trauma room, Will put his stethoscope to his chest as the rest of the nurses were working to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly, Will dropped the stethoscope and put his hands onto Ruzeks chest starting CPR.

"He's in cardiac arrest! Get him on oxygen, I need to shock him!" Will said, then grabbed the defibrillator paddles.

Later...

Voight stood in the hallway of Chicago Med glancing back and forth between the rooms that held two of his detectives. Three days had passed since the Jay's incident and the ordeal on the roof. He had just left Halsteads room and convinced Erin to eat something. She refused to leave his side for more than a few minutes at a time, worried that if she did, he wouldn't be there when she got back. The lung that had collapsed this time was the same one that was damaged in the explosion, putting him in even worse shape than the first time, and leaving him dependent on a ventilator. Voight sighed, then looked up as he heard footsteps approaching.

"Commander." He said, greeting the man.

"How are they?" She asked.

"About the same. Can I help you with something?" Voight asked.

"Actually, yea. You can tell me what happened on the roof the other day." He said. Voight had been staring past her, only barley listening, but now she had his full attention.

"I filled out a report, didn't you read it?" Voight asked, pursing his lips in annoyance. He knew how these conversations went, and was pretty well versed.

"I did, but here's the thing. I don't believe it. Was there a reason to shoot the suspect?" Commander asked.

"He had a gun pointed at my detectives chest. One who was already unconscious from a nearly lethal taser hit. I was protecting my team, and if you have a question of that, ask the rest of them." Hank answered, anger starting to rise into his voice. The commander was just about to reply when suddenly a loud noise from the monitor inside Ruzeks room going off. Multiple nurses and doctors pushed past the two high ranking officers to get to the detective who was in distress once again.

Days later...

Jay carefully straightened the tie on his dress blues, and stared at his bruised face in the bathroom mirror. He turned his head slightly and studied the bruise on his temple, looking to where the bootprint was visible inside the plethora of colors the bruise had taken on in the past few days. Then he slowly reached up and pulled the bandage off of the cut starting at the underside of his nose and snaking down to his top lip. A few minutes later, he grabbed his crutches and hibled out of the bathroom, down the hall, and into the court room with Erin at his side.

"The prosecution calls Detective Jay Halstead to the stand." The prosecutor said. Erin handed Jay his crutches, and he made his way through the isle and towards the bench.

"Detective, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I swear." Jay answered.

"Good afternoon Detective. How are you feeling?" Mr. Anthony asked as Jay settled into the witness stand.

"I'm feeling very good, thank you for asking." Jay answered.

"Good to hear. Detective, can you walk us through the events that took place on the evening of the 24th?" Anthony asked.

"It had been a fairly routine workday. We didn't have any open cases, so it was a day of paperwork. I left the precinct at approximately 3:30pm to grab dinner, and when I returned, my sargeant brought it to my attention that there was a note on my desk of someone requesting to have a talk with me. They had included a time and a place for a meeting." Jay explained.

"Is the person that asked to meet with you in the room today?" Mr. Anthony asked.

"Yes sir. The man sitting right over there, Neal." Jay said.

"Let the record show that Detective Halstead pointed to the defendant. " Mr. Anthony said. Jay watched the man glare at him from across the courtroom. Jay didn't even flinch, and met Neal's gaze without backing down.

"Thank you detective, the prosecution rests." Mr. Anthony said, then sat down.

"The defense has no questions for the witness."

"Thank you detective. You may leave the stand." Judge Willis said. Jay nodded, and took his seat back in the crowd for the rest of the trial.

Later...

"On the first count of attempted murder of a police officer against Neal Harris, how does the jurry find?" Judge Willis asked.

"Guilty." The woman answered.

"On the second count of attempted murder of a police officer against Neal Harris, how does the jurry find?"

"Guilty." The woman again answered. Jay looked over at Adam with a nod of satisfaction. Adam returned his look.

"Thank god it's only attempted murder!" He whispered to Jay and his fellow detectives sitting around him. They then listened as the charges against the man continued to come, all with the same verdict. The Chicago Intelligence crew sat happily, glad that not only was this low life going to prison for the rest of his life, but also that they still had both Jay and Adam with them to celebrate the moment.

"On behalf of this court and the state of Illinois, Neal Harris is sentenced to life in prison, without the chance of parole." Judge Willis said, and finalized it with the strike of his gavel. Jay stood up and rested on his crutches, watching as an officer walked towards Neal to cuff him and lead him away. Jay made his way out into the isle and was on his way out when he suddenly caught and unusual movement out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly, Neal forcefully flipped the table he was sitting behind across the room, and grabbed a gun that had been smuggled in for him, and pointed it towards Jay.

"I should've just shot you in that alley!" He screamed. The crowd gasped as a shot echoed through the room. Everyone's attention first went to Jay, who was still standing, looking confused. Their eyes quickly switched to where Harris lay dead on courtroom floor, blood looking under his head. Voight lowered his weapon, and slid it back into the holster.

"Some people just don't know how to take a second chance when it comes to them." He said, and shook his head.


	32. Chapter 32- What happened After ch15

O is for Occipital

"Can you read the third line for me?" Jay squinted, then shut his eyes for a moment when his head started throbbing. He rubbed the back of his neck, just below the scar.

"Don't push yourself to hard, it's still early. Your doing really good. How bout the second line?" Dr. Curtis said, then pointed to the second largest line of letters.

"Uh...a...g...m...r... I can't!" Jay said with a huff of anger, then slammed a fist against the table.

"Ok, let's take a break. You'll get better. Healing takes time, especially with a traumatic brain injury like yours." He said.

"I'm gonna ask you a question. Don't give me any of that "doctor encouraging my patient" bullshit, give me a straight answer. Will I ever be able to shoot a weapon again?" Jay asked, staring the man down in hopes it would keep him from lying. The doctor sighed quietly, then looked him in the eye.

"Its gonna take time, probably longer than you'd like, but you go lucky. Had you gotten surgery two minutes later, the bleeding wouldve been to servere, causing you to lose your sight all together. They removed the skull fragment and stopped the bleeding fast enough that you should get your normal sight back in about a five months. However, you'll be able to return to work before that, so you'll likely have to wear corrective lenses or contacts for a while to retrain your eyes to focus on objects. They might put you on desk duty because of it, but you'll be back to work nonetheless. You'll get there. Can you handle that?" Dr. Curtis explained.

"Yea. I can do that." Jay said with sigh.

Later...

Jay wheeled himself into the lounge, relishing in the smells of sodas, leather, and sweaty soldiers. It was the first time he was allowed to leave his room since arriving at the V.A. three weeks ago. He moved the bandage that was wrapped around his head to protect the large wound on the back of his head, stitches still fresh, so he could scratch an itch.

"Halstead?" Jay turned towards his name.

"Bear?! Well I'll be damned!" Jay said, a smile stretching across his face as he turned his chair towards the man, and stuck his hand out. The two old friends embraced.

"Its been to long man! What're you doing here?" Jay asked.

"Took a rebel bullet through the neck 'bout two months ago over in Iran. Been here ever since. What about you? Are the rumors true? Your a detective now?" James asked.

"Yep. Chicago Intelligence Unit. As for this, I got thrown onto concrete after some idiot rookie didn't listen to orders and opened a door rigged with C4. Doc said I messed up my brain." Jay explained.

"So you were the one the medevaced in here? I thought you looked familiar but you had so many tubes and wires and bandages on you, you kinda just looked like a mummy. Looked pretty serious." James said.

"Yea, I don't really remember much of that. My memory is still a little fuzzy. In fact, the last thing I remember is me and my girlf- my partner getting blown up. Didn't know till last week if she was alive or not." Jay said, recalling the day Erin had finally been allowed to visit him when he was conscious. He remembered how relieved and happy he was to see her, and how much he had wanted to hug her, but was to weak to do it.

"Wait a minute, your in a relationship with your partner, and you havent been kicked out of the unit yet?" James asked with surprise. Jay rolled his eyes. He had hoped his friend didn't hear that part.

"Its a long story." Jay said.

"Well by the looks of you, we're gonna be here for a while, so start talking! You got a picture of her?" James asked. Jay huffed in mock offense, then pulled out his wallet and opened it to the photo album. Phones were still off limits due to his eyes problems.

"Ooooohhhh I see you Halstead, I see you!" James said.

"Alright, put your tongue back in your mouth, she's taken!" Jay said with a laugh. He the. Leaned back, making himself comfy in his seat, as the two started off into what would become hours soon hours of talking. After all, they had quite a few years to catch up on, and even more to reminisc about.

Later...

Erin happily pushed the wheelchair through the hall towards Jays room. She still couldn't believe he was finally coming home. The last three months had sure been a whirlwind, the events blurring together. After spending a month either in bed or the doctors office, she now understood why Jay hates recovering from things and having to take time off work. Unlickily for him, his had been a lot more extensive this time. He still certainly wasn't back to normal yet, and was still coming to terms that his sense of normal had changed.

"Hey! You ready to go home?" Erin asked, walking into Jays room.

"Definitely. If I ever have to come back to a hospital, bring me here. They've been amazing. I don't think I could thank them enough." Jay said, deep sincerity in his voice.

"Its you that we can't thank enough! Glad to see your better, and hopefully you won't have to come back here other than on social visits. You made a lot of friends around here! Cases like yours are why I do this job. I don't think you understand how much respect I have for you. To give everything you did overseas and come home just to do the exact same thing on a slightly smaller scale, that takes guts. Your a rare breed nowadays." Dr. Curtis said, shaking Jays hand as he slowly stood. He then took a step back, straightened, and saluted the doctor. He took a few steps to the wheelchair, where Erin helped his sit, and then pushed him out.

Jay smiled ad he looked around him at the halls that had now become familiar. As the passed the lounge, he thought about all the stories he had told and listened to in that room, some funny, some serious, and even some sad. He had met some incredible people, and reconnected with some old friends he had missed. As he passed the room, he heard someone yell about him to the rest of the room. While some of the people backed off, he suddenly heard them yell "Hooah!"

His smile grew to a laugh when he saw the look of confusion on Erin's face, which only grew when he answered the chant.

"Let me guess, it's an army thing?" Erin asked.

"Yea, it's the chant the army uses. You be heard Olinsky and I talk about it before." Jay said.

"I usually just ignore those conversations because I never understood anything you guys were saying." She replied with a smile.

The pair soon made their way into the waiting room, where Jay was surprised to see the Intelligence Unit in its entirety waiting for him. They were also joined by Antonio and of course Will.

"Well you sure look a lot better than when you last came through those doors!" Will said, smiling at Jay, remembering back to the day his brother was flown in, still hooked to a ventilator, a heart monitor, and an EEG to monitor his brain functions. Jay smiled back, and thanked them all for coming. Will then slowly helped him stand, and they happily went home.

Later...

"Does anyone have eyes on the suspect?" Voight's voice asked through the earpiece.

"Negative." Came the responses from each man.

"I got some movement on the south side of the park. Coming your way Ruzek." Jay said, moving his scope from where he had seen a man that matched the description of the one who had been sending Adam the death threats. The team began to worry when there was no response from the detective. Jay zoomed in on his scope, trying to get a better look at his friend in hopes of figuring out why he wasn't answering.

"Ruzek, come in!" Atwater said over the coms. No reply. Suddenly, Jay knew why. The man who patted the detective down earlier had found the listening device.

"Sarge, we got a problem. They found the wire. Suspects got a gun, and is approaching Ruzek." Jay said, worry turning to panic.

"Does anyone have eyes eyes on Ruzek or the suspect?" Voight asked, voice panting as he ran towards where Adam had been instructed to stand. Answers of no once again came from all members of the team except one. Their friend was basically a sitting duck. Jay searched the surrounding area of the park, hoping to find the suspect.

"I've got a shot." Jay said. He set his scope, trained it on the man's chest, and again lowered his eye to the sights. He slowly closed his other eye, and looked. Panic and anger filled him when his vision suddenly became blurry. He squinted trying to clear it, knowing time was running out. Then a calmness filled him as the words of his sniper instructor from his boot camp days played in his mind. Always trust your training. If that fails, trust your instincts. Jay took a deep breath, blinked for a second, and centered the sights on the man once again.

"Halstead! Take the sh..." Voight's scolding was interrupted by sounds of gunfire, than after a few tense moments, a new voice came into their ears.

"Suspect is dead along with the other offenders. Nice shot Jay. Good to have you back." Adam thanked his friend. Jay let out the breath he seemed to habe been holding, and put his head onto his hands for a moment, relief washing over him. He was back.

After cleaning up his nest, he joined the rest of the team at the scene as the bodies were baged and taken off by the ME's office. Adam split off from the group and walked over to Jay.

"I knew you still had it! Thanks for having my back man." Adam said, putting a hand on Jays shoulder.

"Just returning the favor." Jay answered.

"What do you mean? I've never been a sniper?" Adam asked, confused.

"Kevin told me how you almost fought that rookie who got Erin and I blown up. You defended us even though it meant you could get suspended. I appreciate that. Now we're even!" Jay said, shaking his friends hand.


	33. Chapter 33- What happened After ch18

R is for Radius

Adam looked up from the text messages on his phone. A few hours ago, a call from the Commander about all the paperwork had forced the unit to go back to the precinct, and Erin had received a call from her mom out of the blue, telling her to come see her. Adam had eventually managed to slip away and come back to Med, hoping Jay would be awake by now. Will had directed him to Jays recovery room, and so here Adam sat. He looked up as his friends eyes blinked open.

"Hey." Adam said.

"Hey. Water please." Jay said, clearing his throat. Adam handed him the cup, and after Jay took a drink, the two sat in silence for a few minutes.

"This wasn't your fault." Jay said, breaking the cloud of awkwardness hanging over them.

"What?" Adam asked, trying to act clueless.

"Come on Adam, I know you better than that. And besides, I can see the guilt on your face. You did what you had to do." Jay said, trying to reassure him.

"And yet it still landed you here." Adam said, looking at the wires attached to Jay's chest, and the nasal canal around his face.

"If you hadn't, you'd be visiting me in the morgue right now! He had the safety off and a finger on the trigger. He had no intention of letting me go. The only person that's to blame is him. Not you." Jay said. Adam sighed, then nodded his understanding.

Later...

Jay finished signing the release paperwork just as his brother walked in. Will signed the clipboard, then gave him one last check up.

"Alright, your good to go! You still have your inhaler, right?" Will asked, handing Jay his jacket and wallet.

"Uh..yea. Why?" Jay asked, standing up. He grunted in annoyance as he fought to get the sling that was holding his bulkily wrapped arm into the right position.

"But you don't use it, do you? Stop squirming!" Will asked, then scolded his younger brother as he fixed the sling in one twist.

"I don't need it." Jay said.

"Really Jay? You've had a collapsed lung _twice_. 90% of people don't even have one in their life time, you understand that, right? You need to keep it with you instead of just doubling over every time you have to chase someone." Will said sarcastically.

"Seriously Will, I'm fine. Once this heals, I'll be back to normal again!" Jay said as he walked out. Will threw his hands up in defeat and said goodbye as his Jay left.

Jay walked to where his truck was parked in the parking lot. He had convinced Adam to bring it over for him, hoping Erin wouldn't find out. Just as he reached the drivers side, he heard a voice behind him.

"What exactly do you think your doing?" Erin asked, coming through the parking lot towards him. An exasperated and slightly annoyed sight escaped him.

"Driving myself home." He said, an exasperated and slightly annoyed sight escaping him.

"If i don't let you drive on the job, I'm _certainly_ not letting you drive after you just got out of the hospital! I took the bus here. I'm driving." Erin said. Jay didn't feel like fighting her, mainly because he could tell she had had a rough day just by the look on her face.

"So what'd Bunny do this time?" Jay asked after settling into the passengers seat.

"How do you know I was with her?" Erin asked.

"You get this look on your face every time you talk about or to her." Jay said.

"Huh. Thought I was better at covering it up than that." She answered.

"You are with other people. I know you to well." Jay said with a smirk.

"Yea, I guess so. I'll tell you about it later, can we just have a night in tonight? The bed is cold without you. Actually, the whole appartment is cold without you!" Erin said, with a loving smile.

"Anything for you." He replied, leaning over to kiss her cheek. She laughed as he slid his hand into hers, forgetting about the large cast in the way.

"Guess it's habit." He said, returning the laugh.

"What, you holding my hand or you always getting hurt?" Erin questioned, now showing her own smirk.

"Both, I guess. But you love playing nurse to me, so I'm a lucky guy!" He smiled. The two finished there short drive and did exactly as Erin had asked. A quite night.


	34. Chapter 34- What happened After ch20

T is for Taser

It had been a few days since Jay's attempted kidnapping, and things seemed to be calming down. Intelligence was keeping the case open, but because they had no leads so far, it had been put on the back burner. That being said, there were all still very aware of the price on Jay's head. Well, all except Jay that is. It annoyed Erin to no end that he went about his daily life as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He refused to stay behind on cases, and only kept protection after threats from Voight, Erin, and Will. Today would of course be no exception.

Jay leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee, scrolling through the files on the computer in front of him. Voight walked out of his office and into the bullpen area, sliding his gun into its holster, and grabbing his jacket.  
"Got a double homicide, suit up." He said to the team as he stood in the middle of the room. Jay grabbed his stuff and nearly knocked the chair over with how quickly he got up. He was more than ready for some action. He could feel the daggers Erin was shooting at him from across the room.  
"Where is it?" She asked, staring at Jay.  
"East Canaryville. We don't have much information yet." Voight answered.  
"Do we know the victims?" Burgess asked.  
"Terence Copeland and his wife." Voight answered, watching Jay's expression change.  
"He was my best friend growing up. This has Matts written all over it." Jay said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice.  
"That's even more reason not to let you go! This could be Matts trying to draw you out! Get you somewhere secluded so he can kill you!" Erin snapped.  
"My family lives there! I'll be damned if he goes after my town and I don't do anything about it!" Jay said angrily. He strapped the thigh holster on, and grabbed his vest, hoping that would at least quiet the doubts. Voight saw the look in his detectives eyes, and knew there was no use in trying to stop him.

Later...

"That guy still following you?" Erin asked as they drove down the road towards the precinct. Jay had noticed a beat up car with blacked out windows trailing him the past few days. He had tried to catch the driver a few times, but so far it hadn't worked.  
"Yea. Probably Matts taking inventory." Jay said, with such calm in his voice it enraged Erin. This guy was trying to kill him, and he acted like he didn't even care.  
"Well it stops now. Ruzek, you copy?" Erin asked, pulling out her radio.  
"Yea, right behind you. What's up?" He replied.  
"That car that's behind us? He's been following Jay ever since the taser incident. We're gonna box him in, see who this guy is." Erin said.  
"My friend worked a little magic on the license plate. It's registered to Carly Matts. That can't be a coincidence." Olinsky said, joining the conversation over the radios.  
"Lets bring her in." Voight said, giving the plan the go ahead. The team was just returning from a closing a case, the suspect in the patrol car behind them. The patrol cruiser split off from the group and towards the precinct, while the rest of the cars formed a box around the car, turning the sirens on. The driver realized they were trapped, and suddenly slammed on the gas, plowing into the back of Jay and Erins truck. The airbag cushioned Erin's impact, but Jay didn't get as lucky. As the cars slid to a stop, Jay immediately looked over, checking on Erin. She was sitting back, already unbuckling her seatbelt, and pushing her way out of the car, gun raised. Jays mind pushed him to join her, but his body decided otherwise. His world was spinning, and the ringing in his ears gave way only to the shouting behind him as a man was drug out of the car and put in cuffs. Jay finally pushed the door open and stumbled out. He stood next to the car, wiping the blood away from his eye. As his hearing returned to normal, Erin walked towards him and began to check him over.  
"Are you dizzy? Is your head ok?" Erin asked, pulling out the first aid kit to examine the gash on his forehead.  
"I'm fine. Did you get the guy?" Jay asked, looking to where the rest of the group was standing.  
"Yea, Voights taking him in now." Erin replied. Jay walked to the rest of the group, a fresh bandage over the cut.  
"You good Jay?" Adam asked, after crawling out of the mangled vehicle after examining it.  
"Other than this, yea. My airbag didn't deploy. Must be a manufacturing defect." Jay said, pointing to the bandage that was already filled with blood.  
"Uh, I don't think it was the companies fault... I have one of these as my personal vehicles and I've never had any issues with it." A fellow detective said as they had been passing by and had seen the crash.  
"Take it to the garage and have the tech's look at it. The rest of you, go fill out the paperwork for the last case. I'm meeting Voight in the cage if anyone needs us." Olinsky said. The rest of the team complied, but Jay immediately protested.  
"Wait a minute, this guy just tried to run me off the road! He could be killed me and Erin! If it was anyone else, they'd get first crack at them!" Jay said angrily.  
"Look Jay, I know your mad, but we're getting heavy pressure from up top to get this guy. If we can't catch someone coming after one of our own, what's that say about are other cases? Just trust him on this one." Olinsky said, trying to reason with him.  
"Fine. But when we find Matts, I get him alone." Jay said, then stormed off.

Later...

Jay continued to mindlessly log information into the computer, all the while holding a towel to his forehead. Erin looked up, and finally walked over.  
"Its still bleeding? It happened like 15 minutes ago!" Erin said, pulling the cloth away, looking at the cut once again.  
"I've always been a bleeder." Jay said, brushing it off.  
"Not like this. I'm calling Will." Erin said, pulling out her phone while tending to the bleeding.

A few minutes later, Will came up the stairs and towards his brothers desk.  
"So when did you plan on telling me someone is trying to kill you?" Will asked, setting his supplies down.  
"I didn't because it's not gonna happen." Jay replied.  
"Well it seems like he's made some pretty decent attempts so far!" Wil answered.  
"Will, I'm fine. I just need a few stitches." Jay said, annoyed by all the coddling. Wil shook his head in response, the finally greeted the rest of the team before again fixing up his little brother and checking him for a concussion. After he was cleared, Jay reluctantly went back to the stack of busy work in front of him.

Olinsky slid out from his cubicle.  
"Looks like your accident wasn't much of an accident." He said to Jay who looked up with confusion. Erin's face mirrored his questioning look.  
"Just got the report of the work up of the truck from the tech guys. The passenger side airbag line was cut. Someone wanted this to happen, but I think they were hoping for a crash that was a bit more fiery than this one. Report says damage is extensive enough that they really didn't want you to live through it." Al said. Jay clenched his jaw, processing all the information he was hearing.  
Matts

Later...

The team one by one looked towards the stairs as footsteps sounded against them. Sargeant Platt walked into the middle of the room, Voight joining them.  
"You got a message." She said handing it to Jay. Understanding mingled with rage came over him as he read the scribbled handwriting.

Jay Halstead. It seems as though you havent gotten the message yet, so I figured I'd just lay it out for you. I want you dead. I want your head on a silver platter. Why, you may ask? An eye for an eye. You remember Carly? That girl you got shot? Now it's your turn. Meet me at this address in an hour or I kill another one of your friends. No games. You come alone, or I kill another friend. Maybe even your dad. Show you how it feels...

Jay's lip twitched with rage as he read the last sentence, then threw it at Voight for the rest of the team to read.  
"What happened with Carly?" Erin asked.  
"Back when I was on patrol, my partner and I responded to a 911 call of a armed robbery. The suspect was a known offender, wrap sheet a mile long, also a heroin addict. That day the guy didn't get his fix, and got his hands on a AK. Started spraying bullets in a park on an withdraw fueled rage. By the time we got there, three kids were already dead, including Carly Matts. She was 18." Jay said. The room was silent. They could hear the remorse in his voice.  
"Sounds to me like there was nothing you could do. Why does he blame you?" Kevin asked.  
"When I got there, I was closest to Carly. She was still alive when I got to her, but the gunman started running, and I made the choice to go after him instead of staying with her. As much as it hurt me that she died, I stand by my decision. Who knows how many other kids would've died if I hadn't gone after him? But Matts doesn't see it that way, evidently." Jay explained, remembering the bloody scene. He grabbed his jacket and gun, and started to leave when Erin stopped him.  
"Your not going anywhere! Remember what happened last time?" She said.  
"He threatened my family. No one threatens my family and doesn't have to go through me first! Try and stop me." He said, leaving the room. Erin looked at Voight desperately.  
"Ruzek, go with with him. Make sure he wears his Kevlar." Voight said. Adam nodded, and ran to catch up with Jay.

Later...

The two detectives slowly made their wau inot thw warehouse as deignated in the note, looking around for the man. Jay had showed Adam a picture on the way over. They were looking for man in his late twenties, short, stocky build with short cropped gray hair. They spotted him a ways off, standing alone with his hands buried in his pockets. Adam kept his distance, trying not to show himself.  
"So we meet again detective." Jay heard the man say as he got closer. He was standing on a loft a few feet away.  
"You know there was nothing I could've done Matts. She was shot in the heart. She was gonna die wether I stayed with her or not, and you know it." Jay said, showing his hands in an effort to show that he wasn't armed.  
"That may be so, but you didn't have to let her die alone. She was so sweet and innocent. She didn't deserve it!" Karl said.  
"And Pat did? What about Terence? Or Amy? Or the baby girl she was carrying, did she deserve it? They were all innocent, just like Carly." Jay asked, coming closer.  
"Backup Jay, he's got an AK47 on him." Adam said through the earpiece.  
"If you would've just come with the first people, none of that would've happened!" Karl yelled, starting to fidget and twitch. He knew Jay was right but would die before he would admit it. Jay ignored Adams voice in his ear, and continued to go closer. Karl suddenly flipped the rifle out from behind his back, pointing it directly at Jays chest.  
"Well it's a good thing I got the special bullets then, seeing as you decided to play games! I said no backup!" He yelled, looking to where Adams shadow flashed lightly on the floor. One might wonder how he knee Ruzek was there, but Jay knew Matts was ex-Navy. Jay knew it was no use to try to reason with him, so he instead raised his hands before reaching towards his gun. Before he could get to it, he heard the distinctive sound of a AK firing off multiple shots. Before he could move out of the way, he felt a sting of pain in his arm. All of a sudden, he felt himself being thrown to the ground by someone tackling him. His head hit the cold ground with a hard thump, knocking him out instantly, as his head was already tender from the ordeal earlier.

Jay woke with grunt, and sat up slowly, holding a hand to his throbbing head. He blinked, waiting for the fuzziness to clear from his vision. The first sight that greeted him was the blood pooling under Ruzeks abdomen. It didnt make any sense, he was wearing a vest. The events came rushing back at the sight of his friend.  
"Ruzek?! Come on Ruz, look at me buddy! Come on!" Jay said, frantically feeling for a pulse. When he found one, he carefully yanked the vest off as fast as he could, shocked at the sight the greeted him. The bullet had gone through the vest. That could mean only one thing...  
Adam opened his eyes with a groan at the pressure Jay applied to the wound right above his hip.  
"That's it, wake up. We gotta get outta here!" Jay said, looking around them.  
"Wh...what happened?" Adam stammered.  
"You took a bullet for me. And an armor piercing one at that. You saved my life, now it's my turn. We gotta get you outta here. Damn! Coms are out. Can you walk?" He asked after getting nothing but static on his radio and no bars on his cell. "Uh...I...I think so." Adam said. Jay made a makeshift bandage from his shirt.  
"Your...sh..sirt? It's -10 out there today, you freeze to death!" Adam said.  
"Med isn't that far from here, I'll be ok. Stop worrying about me and focus on being ok, you hear?" Jay said.  
"Yea, yea. Geeze, you sound like Erin!" Adam said laughing slightly against the pain. Jay rolled his eyes, and pulled one of Adams arms around his shoulders, and the two made their way towards the hospital.

Natalie glanced towards the ER doors as they opened. She briefly looked back down at what she was doing until she noticed who was coming through the doors. She ran towards the two bloody detectives coming towards her.  
"Jay?! What happened?!" She asked, looking at the two of them.  
"Adam took a bullet in the side. It was a...side mission or sorts." Jay said. She immediately began checking over Adam, all the color drained from his face. She called for a gurney, and once Ethan helped get him on it, they rushed towards a trauma one. Will heard his brother name, and came towards them.  
"Jay?! Adam got shot? Are you ok?" Will asked, stepping in front of him partially to keep him from going into the room, but also to look him over.  
"I'm fine, just let me in there! He saved my life!" Jay said, trying to push past him. Will stayed in front of him, trying to get him to stop struggling, when his eye caught a growing stain on his brothers shirt sleeve. He looked closer, and suddenly grabbed Jays shoulders to stop him from moving.  
"Stop! Stop fighting me! Your bleeding!" Will said, pointing towards the cut.  
"Its probably just a scratch! Let me go!" Jay said, turning belligerent as he watched them work on Adam through the door behind them.  
"Its not, Jay. JAY! Stop! The bullet is still in your arm! Moving is making it worse! You need to let me get it out!" Will said, pushing his brother away from the door as Adam was pushed up to surgery.  
"No! Just...just..let me stay with him!" Jay said, none of his brothers words registering with him. He continued to struggle against Will's strong grip.  
"Get me a sedative and a gurney." Will said in a lowered voice to Ethan, who was now also trying to contain Jay, who was quite obviously going into shock, yet he continued to fight them. Dr. Choi grabbed what he needed, and came up behind Jay, and stuck the needle in his neck, pushing in the sedative. Seconds later, Jays knees became weak, and his eyes slid closed. Will and Ethan lifted him onto the gurney and strapped oxygen on him as they pushed him off in the same direction that Adam had gone moments ago.

Later...

Jay woke up to the sound of people talking around him. He turned his head to see Will standing over him. He wasn't aware that Jay was awake, and remained focused on something. Jay followed his gaze down to his arm, soon realizing that he had a tweezers inside his upper arm. The numbness caught him by surprise, as he was still out of it. He started to panic slightly, and tried to move around. This immediately got Will's attention.  
"Why is he awake?! What sedative did you give him?" Will asked with shock.  
"He moved! I guess he only got about half of it!" Ethan answered.  
"Its bad enough that there's no OR's open because of the car pile up and I'm doing this here, but we should at least be able to keep him asleep!" Will said in an exasperated voice. Jay continued to try to move as the foggyness hovered in his brain, a side effect of the sedative.  
"Jay, I need you to stop moving ok? The bullet is almost out, but if you keep moving you could make me drop it. I'm almost done, ok?" Will said calmly. Jay nodded. Blood didn't bother him, but he still turned away, not really wanting to watch Will dig around in his arm.  
"Adam?" Jay asked.  
"He's out of surgery. Bullet was a through and through, and missed all his arteries and organs. He'll be in here with you once I finish up." Will said. They both looked up as the door was abruptly thrown open, Erin charging in. She stopped cold when she saw that Will still had a tweezers in his arm, pulling the bullet out, and finally setting it on a tray.  
"He shot you?! And Adam?!" She asked.  
"Well he was only aiming for me, but Adam jumped infront of me." Jay said, still a little groggy.  
"I thought you were wearing Kevlar!" Erin replied, seemingly ignoring Will.  
"We were. He had armor piercing bullets." Jay explained.  
"Did you see where he went? What was he wearing?" Voight asked, joining them so silently that no one even heard him come in.  
"No. I passed out." Jay said, then described his current nemesis to a T.  
"I'm putting out a bolo." Erin said, calling it in. Jay nodded. Will finished the stitches and wrapped the arm before checking him once again for a concussion.  
"Your all good. Adam should be in any minute. And please Jay, don't make me have to fix you again. Twice in one day is to much." Will said, squeezing his brothers shoulder.  
"I agree." He answered.

Later...

Jay filed into Molly's with the rest of the team. They greeted the usual customers and friends, and all took their seats. Adam ordered a beer, and sat down gingerly.  
"Put him on my check. His drinks are on me tonight." Jay said. Adam smiled as the friends shared their appreciation for each other. Once they had all gotten their drinks, Will held his up.  
"To friends, and to the fact that Jay is no longer a wanted man. Now we can all rest a little easier! Well, for tonight anyway!" He said, and they all laughed. Jay rolled his eyes as they happily toasted it. 


	35. Chapter 35- You'll be Alright

**You'll Be Alright**

 **/**

 **Hey guys! So this chapter/story/thing started out as a follow up to chapter 33 as suggested by lanteaaddicted(thanks so much for the idea btw!)And then it kinda morphed into a story about how Jay has been spiraling out of control this season. It's kind of a mix of Jay's life in my fanfictions, and his life on the show! Hope you enjoy, leave a review!**

 **/**

The dog tags that were hanging around Jay's neck hit one of the patches that was stuck a few feet below his collarbone. He grunted in annoyance at the sound it made and turned his music up a few clicks higher, before doing the same to the the treadmill. He heard a noise over the volume of his music, and turned to where the gym door had opened, and Hailey walked in. He slowed to a walk, then stopped as she walked over.  
"Morning. Coming to join me finally? I thought you didn't get up this early?" Jay greeted her with a smile after pulling the oxygen mask off and picking up his water bottle.  
"I don't. We got a case, and Adam said you walk here, so I offered to pick up up on the way." She answered. Jay noticed how her eyes lingered on his bare chest, not on the muscles, but instead the two long scars that snaked their way from his left clavicle down the middle of his sternum.  
"Well the way he sounded when I called him this morning, you probably should've picked him up instead. Seems like he had a pretty long night." He said, pulling out his phone to check the stats that the monitor had collected, ignoring the look.  
"Using oxygen? You ok?" She asked, finally moving her eyes to each of the multitude of scars scattered across his torso.  
"Oh yea, I'm fine. It's just a thing Will makes me do when I work out since I had those two punctured lungs." Jay replied nonchalantly.  
"You what? When did that happen?" She asked, shock in her voice.  
"Before you got here. The first time was when we got blown up. You probably heard about that case. The second time was when a guy who's brother I killed during a bust came after me. I get a little out of breath when I work out so now Will's been getting on me about monitoring my breathing and everything else. He got me this machine thing. Called it an early Christmas present." He said with a laugh as he pulled on a shirt.  
"So all those scars are from before me? Erin must've had her hands full with you!" Hailey said, not noticing that the words sent Jay deep into his thoughts.  
"Yea. She did." He said after a while. He saw the questioning look on her face, as if she knew she had hit a sensitive subject. Before she could ask anything, grabbed his bag and made his way out.

"What we got Sarge?" Jay asked as they walked up to the scene, ducking under the police tape. There was a circle of police cars blocking of the area of the street where the CSI's were gathered around the body. Another officer was off to the side, talking to a woman who looked as though she had just finally calmed down.  
"What looked like a hit and run at first, but the body is way to damaged for that. According to the M.E., he's was severely beaten, then drug down the street behind a truck." Voight said, holding up the tape so the detectives could walk under.  
"Is that the witness?" Jay asked.  
"Yea, Macey Lewis. She was inside when it happened. Are vic is her boyfriend." Voight said. Jay and Hailey nodded, then made their way to where an officer was standing with her. Hailey thanked him, then turned to the witness.  
"I'm Detective Halstead, this is Detective Upton. We're sorry for your loss. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Jay said.  
"Uh...y...yea. ok." She answered.  
"It says here that you witnessed your boyfriend being drug behind a truck? Where were you when it happened?" Jay asked.  
"In the kitchen. I saw it from that window." She said after taking a deep breath to compose herself.  
"Did you see who did this?" Hailey asked.  
"N...no. I looked out the window when I heard...heard him scream. Then I saw the truck...and him..." she said, trailing off as tears began to well up in her eyes.  
"Did you see the license plate? Even a partial would be helpful." Hailey replied after a moment.  
"Yea...I...I wrote it down. Will that help find the man?" Macey asked, wiping her tears once again.  
"Absolutely. Do you have someone you can call?" Jay asked.  
"Yea uh, my parents should be home any minute. We were visiting them." She said.  
"Thank you. We'll be in touch." Jay said, and the partners walked away.

Later...

Antonio tapped the pictures to the board as the rest of the team gathered around.  
"Our victim is Jason Russell. Him and Macey were in town visiting her parents. The coroner said she found blood under our vics nails, so she'll be running that." Antonio said.  
"Just got a email. The license plate belongs to a Victor Sanchez. We got an address!" Jay said, standing up. He stopped when he saw the look on Voights face.  
"Something wrong Sarge?" He inquired.  
"Victor was a uh...friend of Erin's before I took her in. He's always been a low life." Voight answered cautiously, watching Jay's expression change just at the mention of her name. He was staring to the desk that used to be Erin's. In fact, his entire demeanor changed. Voight knew he wasn't the only one that sensed it when Adam chimed in.  
"Where's that address? Kev and I can go..." He said, but Jay cut him off.  
"No. We're going." Jay said, and was off towards the parking lot before anyone could get another breath in. Hailey gave a confused look, then followed when no one offered an explanation.

"So do you know this guy?" Hailey asked.  
"Jay?" She asked when there was no response. He finally glanced over from where he had been staring straight ahead.  
"Huh...uh no. I didn't mean many of Erin's old friends. The ones that didn't die or go to jail got chased out by Voight after he took her in." He answered flatly. Then it was more silence.  
"Have you talked to her since she left?" Hailey asked, watching as his jaw twitched at the question.  
"No."  
"Why not?" She probed.  
"Ya know, I don't think that's really any of your business." He answered, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. She started to answer, but was cut off when he put the truck in park, hastily shut it off, and hopped out. She had known it was a touchy subject before, but not just how bad. She then jumped out and followed him.

"Victor Sanchez, Police! Open up!" Jay yelled, banging on the door. When there was no answer, Jay backed up, and kicked the door open. The two partners went inside, guns leading the way. They both stopped when they heard music booming from the bedroom. They then busted the door open to where Victor was sitting near the window, creating a new ID.  
"Sanchez! Put your hands behind your head!" Jay yelled after Upton swift he's off the music from a nearby phone sitting in a speaker. The guy sighed, then slowly complied, much to the officers surprise.

Later...

Jay walked through the door of the interrogation room, closing it behind me.  
"Hank Voight. I remember you. Saved Erin from us didn't you? It's a shame, she was a real catch! And you. You're that Halstead guy she was got. To bad she left you. Know the feeling." Victor said.  
"I guess you would know the feeling, seeing as you killed the man your girl replaced you with." Voight said, starting the conversation on his own when he saw Jay's jaw clench in anger.  
"Wow, right to the point! Some things don't change, do they? You know, it's be easier if you had any evidence." Victor replied, a smug look on his face.  
"The witness got your license plate number. That suped up truck you got in your driveway? It's got the same plates." Jay said, sliding the pictures across the table.  
"Sure, I drove through that neighborhood this morning, but as for the murder? That's her word against mine. And I can assure you, a dumb blonde like Macey couldn't pick up on anything like that. She's just like Erin was. Once a druggie, always a druggie. You think their yours forever, and then just like that they leave you." He said.  
"Well now we have motive. You were jealous. So tell us, how'd you do it? You strangle him first?" Voight asked. Jay squeezed the underside of the table to keep himself from throwing it through the window behind them as the man continued, talking louder over top of Voights raspy voice.  
"Then before you know it they've moved on. News travels fast where we grew up. I wonder which FBI agent she's in bed with now?" Jay couldn't contain it anymore. He picked up one end of the table, and threw it so hard it hit the wall to the left of them. He stood up so fast his chair was soon against the wall also. The man laughed, readying his fists which were still cuffed together.  
"Jay! He's not worth it! Take a walk! NOW!" Voight said, putting himself between the men. Jay decided he was right, and nearly yanked the door off its hinges when he stormed out. He ignored the questioning looks from the rest of the team as he passed their desks and head straight for the locker room.

He stared into his locker, not really sure why he had even opened it. In fact, he wasn't sure why he did anything anymore. How could a suspect get under his skin so much? Maybe it was because he had wonder that. Who was keeping her company? Is he with her right now? Has she forgotten all about me? He reached into the locker, pulling out a picture that he had evidently tried to hide from himself. It was from their day at the beach earlier in the summer. We were so happy. He carefully reached in to put it back in when he felt something in a pocket of one of the many jackets hanging in the chaos that was his locker. Confusion came over him at the thought of what it could be. He reached in and pulled it out, instantly feeling worse. It was the ring.

Meanwhile...

"Al, cut him loose." Voight said with a sigh after finally coming out of the room.  
"What? Why? We have a witness that IDed his truck." Antonio asked.  
"I know. Officers found crack in her house when they went inside to interview her. They ran a drug test, and she was under the influence during the time of the murder. Until we have something else on this guy, we can't keep him. As much as I want to drag his ass down to booking, no judge is gonna by her story." Voight answered. The room went silent in frustration, before they soon got to work.  
"What'd he say to Jay? He looked pretty pissed." Hailey asked out of the blue.  
"Let's just say he ripped the scab off a wound." Hank said, then walked into his office. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a bang, then a crashing sound coming from the locker room...

Meanwhile...

A whirlwind of emotions hit Jay all at once as he looked down at the stone shining from the red felt box in his hand. She was the one he thought. Anger and anguish took over as he put the box back in his locker and slammed the door shut. He stalked to the sink, staring at his reflection when his rage boiled up once again, and his fist flew out from his side. He watched the glass shatter around his hand, some making it's way into his skin. As his emotions died down, he slumped onto the bench, head in his hands.

Antonio rounded the corner that led to the locker room bathroom to find Jay hunched into a ball on the bench. He walked over slowly, hoping to make his presence no known without spooking him.  
"Hey. What happened?" Antonio asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question. If he said he'd never punched something in a fit of rage, he'd be lying. He saw all the tell-tale signs.  
"Nothing. I'm fine." Jay said flatly, standing up. He turned the water on, and held his fist under the water. Antonio looked at the water running into the drain that was now turning a dark pink color and knew exactly what happened.  
"You're obviously not fine Jay. Look, I know this case has brought some stuff to the surface that's hard to deal with. I know how it feels to have the one you love more than anything just up and walk out on you. If you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me." He said, looking into Jays eyes. Jay sighed and nodded, then turned back to his hand. After a few moments of silence, Antonio turned and left.

"What happened in there?" Hailey asked as Antonio walked back to his chair.  
"Well, uh.. the locker room is gonna need a new mirror." Antonio answered.  
"He put his fist through it." Kevin said in answer to Haileys still confused look. An awkward silence filled the room, the intensified as Jay rejoined them, the cuts on his hand obvious.

Hours later...

"Guys I've got something." Kevin said. Everyone looked up from what they were doing to Atwaters desk.  
"I checked security cameras in the streets near our murder. This is at 8:30am, a block and a half from the house. And that's our guy getting out of his truck. The hitch is missing." He said, turning the monitor around to show the video to the rest of the team.  
"Just got the reports back from the ME. The blood on the jacket that you guys got from Sanchez's house is a match for our victim." Adam chimed in after Kevin finished.  
"Looks like we've got motive, and evidence. Let's go get him!" Voight said. Jay nodded and grabbed his stuff.

The partners dat in their cars surrounding the house, all in plain clothes other than the kevlar. After Hank gave the signal, they all made their move to leave the car.  
"Don't you need this?" Hailey asked, picking up Jays inhaler from the center console.  
"No I'll be fine. Let's go." Jay said, already out of the vehicle. She thought about protesting, but knew that during this case, it would be no use. She sighed, thinking how of all the people in this unit, her own partner was the one she knew the least about. For instance, why had this case struck such a nerve? Sure, it had something to do with Erin and that she left, but this guy from her past? What did that have to do with Jay? And why had it made him so upset? All these questions swirled in her mind as she jumped out of the car and followed him, joined by the thought that maybe he should listen to his brother who was a doctor, and take the inhaler with him just in case.

"Clear." Al whispered as he ducked in and out of another room. They had been searching the house for the last few minutes, and still no sign of Victor. They were down to the last few rooms, when suddenly the back door flew open, and out ran the suspect. Jay and Hailey had been positioned behind it, but were caught off guard. He took off down the alley, with Jay hot on his heels. Even though Jay quickly gained on him, the 15 minute chase started to take its tole. Jay ignored the burning pain in his chest, and kept going. He didn't hear Upton's footsteps behind him anymore, knowing she had probably split off to try to cut him off. He also knew that he couldn't last much longer, as he had started gasping for air. He turned onto a side street that would put him just out in front of Victor, and as soon as the man rounded the corner, he tucked his head into his body so that he was leading with his shoulder, and took them both to the ground. As soon as they hit, Sanchez started throwing punches, making it evident that he wasn't going to come in peacefully this time. Jay had the upper hand, as he was on top, fighting to get him onto his stomach. He could feel the blood flowing from his nose and lip from the first few hits. Suddenly, Victor used his legs to throw Jay off of him. He watched as Sanchez stood up, and started to reach into his pocket for what Jay could only imagine could be a gun. He certainly didn't want to find out, so he quickly spun and kicked his feet out from under under him, again giving him the upper hand. He managed to get the suspect in cuffs just as the rest of the team found them. He yanked Victor to his feet, and shoved him towards Voight as Hailey came over.  
"Turns out my shortcut wasn't so short. You ok?" She asked, looking at the blood running down Jay's face and dripping onto his shirt. His head was swimming from the lack of oxygen, but he nodded anyway.  
"You don't sound to good. Can you breath ok?" Antonio asked, even though the wheezing sound coming from Jay's chest was answer enough. He started to ask something else when Jay all of a sudden dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Come on Jay, wake up man!" Adam said just as Jay reopened his eyes, looking at the concerned faces above him. He sat up despite the protests, taking a raspy breath.  
"How...long..." Jay tried.  
"About two minutes. We've got an ambulance on the way, just hold still." Hailey answered. After a few minutes, Jay stood up.  
"Just get me my inhaler. I'll be fine." He said, trying to walk away.  
"Jay, your lips and hands are blue. Your brain isn't getting enough oxygen. You need a hospital!" Burgess said. Jay tried to walk away, but stopped when the teetering feeling returned. Lucky for him, the ambulance had just rolled up. Voight gave him a look, and he reluctantly wen with them.

Later...

Will picked up his brothers charts and shook his head. He knew it would take everything in him not to say I told you so when he got into his room. He opened the door, and a shocked look came over him as he found the bed empty, wires unhooked and thrown hastily onto the bed. He knew Jay's injuries weren't incredibly serious, but that he should still be on oxygen. His lungs weren't stronger than they had been a few months ago, but definitely still needed some extra help recovering after being in a fight. He turned and sprinted to the break room. Natalie saw him go by, and the panic on his face, and followed him.  
"Will! What's wrong?!" She asked, catching up to him.  
"Jay, did you see him leave?!" Will asked, digging for his phone.  
"No, Why? Did he?" She asked, confused.  
"Yes! He's done this before, but this time is worse. He's been in a rut these past few months, and I don't know where's he'd go. He doesn't have Erin to go after him this time, so it's my job." He answered.  
"Ok, but you said it yourself, you have no idea where he went. How are you gonna find him?" She asked.  
"He probably took the bus somewhere. I'll have them track his phone." Will said, dialing Adams number.

"Ok Will, I got a location, but your not gonna like it. He's on the bridge. Do you want us to meet you there?" Adam asked looking at the map on his computer screen. He knew that this was the same bridge that Jay had tried to commit suicide on years ago, and couldn't hide the fear in his voice. This was one of his best friends.  
"N...no. No. I got this. If it's bad, it should just be me." Will answered, and hung up, before sprinting to his car.

Later...

Jay stared at the number on his screen, and listened to the sound of the water crashing underneath him and the cars whizzing past behind him. He sighed, and looked out over the skyline of the city against the sunset. How could she leave a place as beautiful as this? How could she just leave? He thought through all the good memories with her. He heard a door slam behind him, and didn't even have to look back to know who it was. He could tell by the sound of the footsteps.  
"I'm not going to jump, if that's what you're worried about." He said, as Will joined him.  
"Good. I was actually more worried about your breathing, though. You should still be on oxygen." He answered. The brothers stood in silence for a while longer before Will noticed the name on the phone.  
"She was the one Will. She was my forever. And she's gone. She didn't even say goodbye." He said.  
"She's not dead Jay. You can still talk to her sometimes." He said, his heart breaking for him.  
"I know, but what's to say she would even want to hear from me. Maybe she's moved on. Found someone new." Jay said.  
"You know what I think? I think leaving was harder on her than anyone else. This was her home, where she grew up, all she's ever known. From what Hank said, she didn't have a choice. And who knows, if you two really are meant to be, and I think you are, fate will bring you back together. And maybe time. Or maybe you'll find someone else eventually. It's like mom always used to say, True love is like time..."  
"It passes painfully slow in the beginning, but in the end you wish it would've gone slower." Jay said, finishing the sentiment.  
"Mom always did have a way with words, didn't she?" Will said with a smile.  
"Yea...she sure did." Jay answered. He sighed, then took a step back from the railing, slipping his phone back into his pocket.  
"Thank you." He said, looking into his brother's eyes before pulling him into a hug. After the embrace, they walked back to Will's car.  
"I could really use a beer and some hockey right now." Jay said.  
"Well it's a good thing that I pulled my favor with that attending from the 8th floor. I'm off the rest of the night. Funny, I think we're just a few blocks from Molly's." Will said. Jay smiled, knowing that at least for a little while, he was gonna be ok. 


End file.
